A Different Master, A Different Destiny: Book 1
by Commander Kitsune
Summary: SI. This is a story about a person who doesn't walk the path of light or dark, but walks the path toward the dawn. A story about his journey, and those around him. Book 1 - A Different View. No pairings in this book. T for occasional swearing.
1. Episode N: Opening Crawl

**A Different Master, A Different Destiny**

Book 1: A Different View

* * *

(Cue song Revelation by Junichi Nakatsuru from SoulCalibur IV OST)

Turmoil has engulfed the  
Galactic Republic. The taxation  
of trade routes to outlying star  
systems is in dispute.

Hoping to resolve the matter  
with a blockade of deadly  
battleships, the greedy Trade  
Federation has stopped all  
shipping to the small planet  
of Naboo.

While the congress of the  
Republic endlessly debates  
this alarming chain of events,  
the Supreme Chancellor has  
secretly asked the Jedi;  
guardians of peace and justice in the  
galaxy, to settle the conflict.

And so our story begins with  
a young Jedi Master named  
Josh Kitsune;  
a man who embraces the dark  
yet shines like a beacon in the night with light.  
He is the man who walks the path to the dawn.

Little does he know  
that his life is about to change  
and that he will guide  
the future of the Jedi  
into a golden age.

This is his journey  
and the journey of those  
that stand with him...


	2. Episode I: New Mission

(AN: This story changes the original canon backstory slightly. For instance, Aayla Secura and Kit Fisto are older and they are an experienced Knight and a Master, for the sake of OC apprenticeships.)

* * *

**Episode I: New Mission**

_Zzzzzrrriiiish_ came the sound of a lightsaber powering down. A wisp of smoke drifted out of the opening. Blue lightning still crackled around the area where the energy blade was moments before. The lightsaber was longer than normal. The average lightsaber was 20 centimetres long when deactivated. This one was 30 centimetres long.

I smiled with pride as the last of the electricity died down. I had finally made the perfect lightsaber for myself. After years of studying, tests and computer simulations, not to mention scouring the Galaxy for ultra rare materials, it had all come down to this. I pushed back my long black hair and saved the correct specifications onto my computer before loading the data onto my personal holocron. I looked up to see my reflection in a mirror. My black hair ran down to my lower back in thick tendrils. The top area was quite shorter than the rest but my fringe collected into four straight locks that reached my upper chest. My eyes, a vivid purple, looked back at me. The style of clothing wasn't typical Jedi garb. Flowing black pants with heavy boots, a black sleeveless muscle shirt and a sleeveless black trench coat, showing off my powerfully muscled arms. On the back of the coat, lining the bottom, was golden lightning bolt patterns.

"Master Josh Kitsune, please report to Briefing Room 9 please, Master Josh Kitsune to Briefing Room 9," came the female voice over the intercom.

I sighed and began my way over to where the rest of the council wanted me to be. "I wonder what they need me for this time," I said quietly to myself as I passed through the door of the briefing room. Inside were four people. The first one I noticed was easily the one that stook out the most. He was tall, dark skin and dark eyes. He wore a light tan robe. His name was Master Mace Windu. The second one wasn't human at all. He was very short, long pointy ears and wrinkled green skin. Large eyes blinked at me. He was Master Yoda; aka 'the little green troll'. The third person was my old friend and sparring partner, Qui-Gon Jinn. He had long light brown hair and kind eyes. The forth, however I hadn't met before, though I distinctly remembered him walking around the temple. I had also heard a lot about him from Qui-Gon over the years. His name was Obi-Wan Kenobi. He had short brown hair aside from a small ponytail at the back and a long padawan braid attached to the side.

"Ok, I'm here. What's up?" I asked.

Mace looked at me seriously, as always. The guy never loosened up around everyone, but I was one of the three people who knew about Master Windu's stuffed toy collection. "We need you to accompany Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi on a mission to Naboo."

My eyes widened in realisation. "This has something to do with the Trade Federation blockade there, doesn't it?"

"Indeed," replied Windu. "This mission has been dispatched by the Supreme Chancellor. We are to act immediately."

"I see," I said before nodding. "So I'm going with these guys?"

"That is correct," said Windu. "The mission is to negotiate with the Trade Federation. Normally it would just be these two but there seems to be more to this. You leave in the morning, tomorrow."

The two Masters then left the room to go about their own business, leaving me with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

"Yeah right. More like they just wanted to get rid of me for a time," I snorted. I then turned to Qui-Gon. "So, you wanna grab a drink with me down at Dex's Diner? Introduce me properly to your Padawan?" I asked. Qui-Gon smiled. "Sure, I could use a drink."

********* Two Days Later *********

I was completely tense. The cruiser we were on was almost at the blockade and I was fidgeting constantly. I knew that the Viceroy of the Trade Federation was probably going to be on the main space station of the blockade and as such I was itching to get this over and done with.

"Calm down Josh," said Jinn for the umpteenth time. "I don't know why you are so impatient."

"This will be a good test for my new lightsaber," I said, my foot tapping against the floor.

"So… you finished it," he said. Qui-Gon had known about my project for some time now.

"Yeah, I'll show you," I replied. Obi-Wan had walked over in curiosity. I pulled out my custom lightsaber and showed the hilt to them. The many mechanics and crystals was contained in a metal different to the metal used in standard lightsabers. The metal was completely white, save for a golden fox running along its length. There was no blade length or power adjust knobs. I then pointed the end away from the onlookers and activated the sword.

A large white energy blade shot out of the hilt, but the shape was unreal. It was shaped in a massive cleaver shape; clearly 40 centimetres wide and over one and a half meters long. The blade ended in a point where one side angled off the straight edge and connected with the other edge, giving it a 45 degree acute angle point. (Cloud's Buster sword shape) Blue lightning arced around the energy frequently, giving the impression that the lightsaber was generating massive amounts of power.

"Gentlemen, I give you the LightDefender Mark I. Aka 'Oathkeeper'," I said proudly. The other two Jedi were open mouthed at this.

"Holy shit!" whispered Kenobi.

"You can say that again," said Jinn in the same awe struck tone as his apprentice.

I then deactivated the newly dubbed LightDefender and attached it to my utility belt. My small audience stared on as the lightning continued to arc around the spot where the blade used to be before slowly fading from view.

"Well? What do you think?" I asked. Qui-Gon Jinn looked like he was going to comment but then a female voice came over the comlink.

"We're coming in close to the blockade. You guys better get ready as we'll be there in a few minutes."

I pressed a button near the door and spoke into the comm. "Thanks Captain."

The next 2 minutes were slightly frantic as we all checked our equipment. After another 2 minutes the ship shuddered softly as we exited hyperspace. I looked out of the window to see the view.

There was Naboo, pristine and beautiful. The surface of Naboo was covered by dense swamps, rolling grass plains, seas and verdant hills. Naboo was one of the jewels of the outer rim.

But there, settled in orbit, was up to 20 Trade Federation Lucrehulk-class battleships. At over three kilometres in diameter, the enormous vessels resembled a donut-shape missing a section of its circumference and with a central sphere containing the ship's bridge and reactor assemblies. The front void of the craft, held two mammoth docking bays on either side, lined with forward docking claws.

"Let's get to the bridge," I said and we set out to the front of the ship. Qui-Gon in front, made his presence known to the captain and pilot.

"Captain," said Qui-Gon and the captain turned around. "Yes sir?" she asked.

"Tell them we wish to board at once," finished the Jedi Master.

The Captain activated the comlink and spoke into the transmitter. "With all due respect, the ambassadors from the Supreme Chancellor wish to board immediately." Above the captains head was a screen where we could see the head of the Trade Federation, Viceroy Gunray.

"Yes, of course," he said smoothly. "As you know our blockade is perfectly legal, and we would be happy to receive the ambassadors."

"Perfectly legal my force owning ass," I muttered softly so the monitor wouldn't pick up my comment.

With that the ship made its way to the battleship where the transmission came from. The ship shuddered as we touched down inside the hanger.

We were greeted by a protocol droid who introduced itself as TC-14. It then guided us to the meeting room.

"We are greatly honoured by you visit Ambassadors. Make yourselves comfortable, my master will be with you shortly." With that the droid excused itself and left the room. As soon as she was gone we lifted our hoods and looked around to make sure there was no-one else in the room.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Obi-Wan.

"Damn right. This smells very fishy," I agreed.

"I don't sense anything," said Qui-Gon.

I snorted. "I think you've been meditating too much," was my witty comment.

Obi-Wan smiled lightly and inside I was doing a small victory dance. Since this mission started, Obi-Wan had been very stiff and cautious. I took it upon myself to loosen him up somewhat. Didn't want him to start acting like Mace the closet plushy worshiper.

"It's not about the mission masters, it's something elsewhere, elusive," corrected the padawan.

"Well I was talking about the mission. This has 'cover up' written all over it," I said.

"Keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs," reminded Qui-Gon.

"But Master Yoda said I should be mindful of the future," questioned Obi-Wan.

"Yes but you shouldn't let it distract you from the mission," I said.

"Yes Master Kitsune," replied the young man.

As we talked we had moved over to the windows to look out at the planet, as well as the dozen or so battleships in orbit around said planet.

"How do you think these trade Viceroys will deal with the Chancellor's demands?" asked Obi-Wan.

"They're cowards; the negotiations will be short," was Qui-Gon's answer.

"Well there better be a fight, I'm itching to let loose on some droids," I said as I began pacing impatiently.

Obi-Wan leaned over to his master and asked, "Is he always like this?"

Qui-Gon nodded. "He has the heart of a Jedi, but he trusts his feelings completely. This also affects his personality. He loves a good fight. But there is no one better other than you that I would put my complete trust in."

"You do realise that I can hear you?" I said. I then explained a little more about myself. "I'm one of the few Jedi who realises that the Jedi Code needs a re-evaluation. All Jedi are trained to suppress all emotions, however Jedi are supposed to be compassionate. Plus, you're not really living if you've shut away your emotions. Jedi need love too. Anyway, if the Force wanted us to act like the code wants us to act, then the Force wouldn't have created feelings for us."

"That's why he hasn't taken up an apprentice," said Qui-Gon.

"Hey, I'm just waiting for the right one, that's all," I said in my defence.

"Hasn't stopped all the Padawan hopefuls asking you to be their master," replied the master Jedi. "All the young ones look up to you, you know."

"I'll admit that there was potential in each one that asked, but I'm looking for someone a little different; more outside the box. Someone who can expand their horizons further than the standard Jedi. Besides, everyone who asked has had the Jedi Code drilled into their heads since year 1. They would be unwilling to let go of what they learned to be the most important," I explained. "Besides, I'm not the only one who hasn't picked a Padawan. Vincent and Kit Fisto haven't either. Aayla Secura hasn't picked a new one either, ever since her own went for the trials a few weeks ago. Think her name was... Dawn! That's it. Quite an attractive vixen she is," I commented and laughed softly as Obi-Wan's face lit up slightly.

"Actually, you're wrong about that. Those three picked up their kids last Padawan test day. Vincent chose Alastor Manase. Kit Fisto got the enthusiastic human boy, Ty. And Aayla picked a human girl called Kat. A bit of a tomboy that one," explained Jinn.

"Isn't Ty that Mandalorian kid that Vincent picked up along with Alastor?" I asked.

"The very same," answered the Jedi Master.

"I was tempted to choose one of those two but decided to wait. Besides Alastor wanted to be with Vincent anyways. *sigh* Well I guess I'm the only one left to pick one. And I'll have to soon or the council will force one onto me. Then again, doing so would be counterproductive for them," I mused, just as TC-14 came back through the doors with refreshments.

"What's taking them so long? How long does it take to walk down here, really?" I asked to no-one in particular but it was Jinn who answered. "I sense an unusual amount of fear for something as trivial as this trade dispute."

I nodded as I took one of the offered glasses of water from the droid, checking for tampering. Finding none I was about to drink when a powerful blast of sound, followed with the room shaking assaulted my senses. I jumped to my feet, Oathkeeper in hand. My two companions also activated their lightsabers and stood tense.

"I think our flight home was just cancelled," I said, now worried. Several seconds after this, a new sound caught my attention. It was a hissing sound, coming from the vents. Gas started flowing from the vent, and I knew then, we were discovered for who we really were.

"Dioxin," muttered Qui-Gon as we deactivated our swords and took a deep breath before the gas overwhelmed us. We heard the doors open and we waited. I heard the droid exit the room and say "Oh, excuse me." What came next was the unmistakable sound of a trade fed Battle Droid. "Check it out Corporal. We'll cover you." "Roger roger!"

We then activated our sabres in the poisonous fog. "O-oh, blast them!" The droids then began shooting at us. I deflected each round back to their owners and heard the sound of the droids crashing to a halt. We then jumped out of the room and began slicing away. Each time I cut through a droid, blue lightning flowed into the two halves and coursed through the electronics. Oathkeeper left a long drag of light and electricity every time the blade was swung, giving it a very impressive and daunting look.

We quickly dispatched the droids and continued through the ranks that led up to the bridge. As soon as we arrived we saw that the bridge had been locked down, Qui-Gon got to the business of breaking through the door while we covered him. He was about half way through before a loud clanking sound was heard on the other side of the door. Jinn stopped and pulled out his lightsaber.

"Did they close the blast doors?" I asked. Qui-Gon simply nodded before he plunged his sword straight into the door, all the way to the hilt. I felt him feeding the force through the lightsaber as he tried to get the door down. But, again, when he was almost through, I heard a sound that I was not pleased with. I looked down the corridor and spotted three Droidikas rolling toward us.

"Guys? We have some rolling clankers incoming!" I said before settling into a defence stance. Obi-wan did the same. Qui-Gon gave up on the door and copied us. The rollers stopped a few meters away and opened themselves up before activating their shield generators and started shooting.

"Damn! These must be the new models the Trade Fed was boasting about a few weeks ago!" I said as I began blocking furiously. "We're in a stalemate. We have to get outta here!" We then quickly broke off and, using the force to speed up our movements, headed down the corridor on the left. We got to the end before the droids began shooting at us again. Obi-Wan used his lightsaber to open a hole in the ventilation shaft while we provided cover. Soon we were all inside and we crawled until we reached the lower levels. We jumped out and hid behind a few stacks of boxes. I peeked around the side to see the first thing I was expecting to see at this moment. Thousands of battle droids.

"I knew it!" I said as Jinn and Kenobi also took a look. "Battle droids?" wondered Jinn. I scoffed. "You seem surprised?" I asked incredulously.

"It's an invasion army," noted Obi-Wan. I nodded. "Well, now we know why the cover up was needed. It seems these guys are gonna start a siege on Naboo."

"We need to warn the Naboo and contact the Chancellor," said Jinn.

"How bout we catch a ride with these clueless tin cans?" I asked.

"Good idea," Jinn replied. "We'll stow away on separate ships and meet on the planet's surface."

"Well you were right about one thing master," said Obi-Wan. Jinn looked at his padawan curiously. "The negotiations were short," he revealed, grinning slightly.

"Don't you mean 'no' negotiations?" I asked, also grinning, before we split up and slipped onto three transports unnoticed.

* * *

On the surface it was chaos. The Trade fed was spreading out from each landed transport ships in all directions. Dozens of droid transports were smashing down trees that were in the way and all the local wildlife were being driven away.

Meanwhile I was trying to get out of the way of a transport vehicle when a strange thing blocked my way. At first glance he seemed humanoid but that was all I was able to see as I tried to go around him. But he moved into my path. From the way he was shrieking it seemed that he wasn't doing this on purpose. So I just careered into him and tackled him to the ground. My ears were blasted when the vehicle floated over us and continued on its way. As soon as it had passed I stood up, dusted myself off and continued on my way. But the thing called out to me to wait. I continued on to try to find a relatively safer spot to rest before getting a good look at him. He was definitely humanoid but it seemed he was built for swimming. He was a gungan. While this was going on he was babbling on about something. Something about loving me and him owing me his life.

"Mesa called Jar Jar Binks," he finally introduced himself.

"Josh Kitsune," I said back.

"Mesa your humble servant!"

"Don't need one."

"Oh but I need to. Tis demanded by the god's it is."

We were then interrupted by laser fire and I pushed Jar Jar to the ground before whipping out Oathkeeper and deflecting several stray shots. I then realised that I wasn't the target as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were escaping from the droid. It saw me and tried to zap me but I calmly deflected the bolt and it went through the droid, sending it crashing at high speeds into a tree.

"You saved mwie again!" said Binks as he stood back up again.

"Who's your new friend?" asked Jinn.

"His name's Jar Jar Binks. I accidentally saved his life while trying to outrun one of those tanks," I explained.

"Ah, a Gungan," observed Jinn.

"Yeah, no need to rub it in," I grumbled. "We better get a move on though. More will be on to us soon."

"More? More did you say?" asked Jar Jar but we were already on our way.

"Exqueese me, but the mossest safest place would be Gunga city. Is where I grew up. Tiss a hidden city," explained Jar Jar.

"Whoa, hold up, hold up," I said and we all stopped. I looked at the gungan. "You said a hidden city, right?" I asked.

"A-ha," nodded Binks.

"Any chance of you taking us there?"

Jar Jar seemed to have a change of heart at this point. "Uhh... on second thought, no. Not really, no."

"How come?" I asked.

"Tiss embarrassing. But ah... just remembered I got banished. My forgot. The boss would do terrible things to me if I go back," explained Jar Jar.

A loud rumbling and crashing sounded in the distance. It seemed the transport tanks were starting to get closer to us. Qui-Gon then tried talking to the local. "You hear that?" he asked. Jar Jar lifted one of his very long and floppy ears. "Yeah?"

"That is the sound of a thousand terrible things heading this way," said Jinn.

"If they find us, they will crush us. Grind us into tiny little pieces and blast us into oblivion," added Obi-Wan.

Jar Jar now was having third thoughts. "Ah... you sa point is well seid." He then pointed the way to the city. "This way!" said before walking in the direction he pointed at.

"Smooth talking guys," I said while grinning as we walked off after him.

The walk to the entrance was long and a few hours passed by. Binks claimed he knew where he was going but I had serious doubts as several times he stopped dead before turning a right angle and continuing on. For the most part we were silent. The crashing of the invasion force decreased in volume until the forest was silent of any threatening sounds.

We were now passing a large lake. "Are we there yet?" I asked for the umpteenth time that day. Binks pointed to the body of water. "We sa going underwater, okeday?" he said. All previous hints of his laid back attitude was now gone. He sounded sombre, even apprehensive. "But my warnin you, Gungans no liken outsiders so, don't expect a warm welcome," he added as a warning.

"Oh don't worry," said Obi-Wan, his voice slightly sarcastic. "This hasn't been our day for warm welcomes."

"Trust me Obi-Wan, what we experienced up there was like a reunion between two old friends compared to some of the situations I've been in," I said. Jar Jar then jumped up very high; impressive since he didn't use any force energy to speak of. As he flew through the air he called out a long string of whops and other sounds as he twisted and turned in mid flight and dived into the water. Our entrance was a little less flashy as we each grabbed a small oxygen flask and clamped our mouths around them. The air inside flowed into my lungs and we all stepped into the water and sank beneath the surface.

Under the water there seemed to be rock. But Jar Jar was swimming toward a high submerged cliff and he swam over the edge. A bright glow was emanating from beyond the edge so we summarised that the city was there. We followed with slight difficulty as we weren't water dwellers like Binks was. But we got to the edge of the cliff and our eyes widened.

Floating just under the edge was a large, sprawling city encased in bubbles. It was truly an amazing sight. Jar Jar made his way to a large bubble that seemed to be a sort of dock, judging from the small landing pad outside the bubble. We floated down onto the pad and slowly walked through the bubble. I felt all the water leaving me and then I was inside a surprisingly warm room. I looked back to see Jin and Kenobi walking through the film like force field of the bubble, keeping the water pressure at bay. I hardly felt wet at all, just a very light dampness on my skin but my clothes were completely dry.

"That's a nice trick," I muttered.

"So good bein home!" said Binks, rather loudly, causing everyone in the room to look at the three of us.

It wasn't long before a guard reined in on a two legged animal to stand next to us.

"Hey you! Stop right there!" he said, clearly talking to all of us.

Jar Jar said something in his native tongue before finishing off in Galactic Basic, "Mesa back!"

"No again Jar Jar," said the guard, seeming to be an acquaintance of Binks. "You sa goin to da Boss. You sa in big do do this time."

Binks moaned softly at what he said as a second guard came up on the opposite side. He poked Jar Jar with his spear and a small amount of electricity jolted Binks. He jumped back before looking at the second guard. "How wude!" was all he said before we were escorted through the city complex. After about another half hour of walking we arrived in what looked to be some sort of council room. A massive and intimidating Gungan sat on a seat at the far end. He was surrounded with two other Gungans on both sides. We were standing on a platform in the middle of the room.

The big one clicked his tongue loudly, the sound reverberating through the room. "You sa canos be here. This army of makanics up there is you we saw."

"This droid army is about to attack the Naboo. We must warn them," said Jinn as he was our spokesperson.

"We sa no like the Naboo," said the big one, clicking his tongue again. "Da Naboo think they so smart; dey think their brains so big."

"Once the droids take control of the surface, they will take control of you," imputed Kenobi.

"Me sa no think so. They not know of us an," said the Boss.

"You and the Naboo form a symbiotic circle. What happens to one of you will affect the other. Surely you understand this?" asked Obi-Wan, confused as to why the two races did not get along.

"We sa no care about da Naboo!" said the Boss with a tone of finality.

"Then speed us on our way," said Jinn.

"We sa ganna speed you away," agreed the Boss.

"Maybe you could give us a ride?" I asked.

"We sa give you sa Otoh Bongo," said the Boss. "The speediest way to the Naboo tis going through," here he grinned quite evilly. "The planet core. Now go." Naboo, unlike most other planets, did not have a molten rock core. Naboo was a geologically unique world in the galaxy. A plasmic molten outer core surrounded an inner core, believed to be composed primarily of a nickel-iron alloy, with very small amounts of some other elements. The plasmic magma "seethes and bubbles" from the centre of the planet carving labyrinths of winding tunnels and caverns similar to lava tubes of traditional magma flows. Much of these abyssal labyrinths were submerged in great underground oceans.

"Thank you for your time, we leave in peace," said Qui-Gon and we turned around to walk out.

"Master Kitsune, what's a Bongo?" asked Kenobi.

"Our ride," I said before adding, "I hope."

As we walked past Jar Jar being held by two guards, he looked at us. "He'sa setting you'sa up. Going through da planet core? Bad bumin." He then looked down at the iron cuffs around his wrists. "Uh, any help here would be hot," he added.

"I got this. We need a navigator anyway," I said to the others before walking back to the platform. "What's going to happen to Jar Jar?" I asked the Boss.

"He soon to be... peunished," said the Boss.

"I guess now would be a good time to say that I saved his life. He owes me big time. A life debt, I believe you call it. Your gods demand that his life belongs to me now," I said while grinning softly.

"Binks!" asked the Boss in surprise. He then turned to Jar Jar. He spoke to Jar Jar in a mixture of the native tongue and Galactic Basic. I gathered he was asking if what I said was true. Jar Jar nodded hopefully, but truthfully.

The boss then shook his head quickly from side to side, his whole face relaxed, making a strange noise. He then pointed at me, then to the door. "Begone with him!"

I bowed slightly before turning around and walking back to my friends, while Binks was released.

"Count me outta dis one! Bedder here den in da core!" he then seemed to realise what he just said and quickly corrected himself.

The Bongo was a strange underwater vehicle. It looked like a cross between a stingray and a squid. However it was quite fast.

We easily descended down an abyss. "This is nutsin," said Jar Jar as he looked out of the window. "Oh! Goober fish!" he exclaimed.

"So why were you banished?" I asked him.

"It's a longo telo, but ah... small part of it would be me sa... uh... clumsy," said Binks.

"You were banished because you were clumsy?" asked Kenobi.

Jar Jar then telling his tale of his banishment. Most of it I didn't understand but it seemed he was kicked out because one thing lead to another.

Then the whole ship jolted and I turned to see some real ugly, huge fish had clamped down on the fins that was the ships method of propulsion.

"Ah no! Big Goober fish with big teeth!" yelled Binks as he began to freak out. Then we were suddenly released as a much larger sea creature bit down on the fish that had attacked us. It then proceeded to rip it apart.

"There's always a bigger fish," said Jinn calmly.

"There's no way that was a friggin fish," I retorted as Obi-Wan drove the sub into a tunnel. After a few minutes Jar Jar asked a question. "Where we sa going?"

"Don't worry," said Jinn. "The force will guide us."

"Oh maxi big da force!" said Jar Jar sceptically. "Well that's smells stinky."

"Yeah, it does sometimes," I agreed.

An alarm then sounded and the sub began to slow down. "We're losing power," announced Kenobi as Binks moaned loudly.

"We sa die in here!" moaned Jar Jar.

"Calm down. We're not out of options yet," I said as Jinn fumbled around the back.

"What yet?" asked Binks as Jin found what he was looking for. A power board. "Monsters out there, leaking in here, all sinking and no power!" continued Jar Jar in his rant. "When you sa thinkin we sa out of options!" asked Jar Jar as Jinn hotwired the power, restarted the engine and reconnected the power.

"There we go!" I said before I looked ahead of me and saw something resembling an old, legendary creature, the Leviathan. "Oh this just isn't my day," I complained lazily as Kenobi revved to full speed and we darted down the tunnel.

The Gungan began to freak out again and I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Calm down," I force told him but he just shook his head and sunk into his seat. "Opps. I think I might of overdone it."

Then a new situation came up. A second swimming thing was coming towards us, jaws open wide. But Obi-Wan just dodged the mouth and we skimmed over the top. The new threat, no longer bearing down on us, went for the next best thing and chomped down on the snake.

"Oh boy..." muttered Jar Jar.

"Head for that outcropping," said Qui-Gon and Kenobi directed the Bongo down another tunnel.

After another two hours of travelling through the core, without anymore interruptions, the Bongo surfaced, showing grand architecture and blue skies.

We had arrived at Theed, capital of Naboo.


	3. Episode II: Escape and Landing

**Episode II: Escape and Landing**

"Ohh, this is loverly!" said Binks in respect to the city we just popped into.

Kenobi deactivated the shield windows and we stood up in the bongo. The breeze ruffled my hair and the smell of freshness and oily mechanics.

...Wait... what?

"Seam's we're late for the party," I grumbled as Kenobi drove the Bongo over to the side of the river we were in to pull up against a small dock of sorts.

"Ladies and Gentleman, thank you for travelling with Bongo Express. We hope you have enjoyed your journey. Please leave your trays in the upright position as you disembark the Bongo," I said as I jumped out of the marine vehicle and landed on the light tan and rose coloured stone tiles that made up the street we were parked up against.

As I waited for the other three to get out, I yawned, stretched and listened, but all was silent. That meant only one thing.

"It seems that the enemy occupies the city completely. Hopefully we aren't too late to rescue the Queen," I said as JarJar jumped out, tripped and fell flat on his face.

We then took off for the palace. It was touch and go for a few situations as droids patrolled the streets heavily. But we managed to get past, especially with JarJar around. After about an hour of weaving through the buildings, alleys and patrols we finally came across a bridge that overlooked a wide street below. Something caught my eye and I held up my hand to tell my friends to halt as I slowly took a closer look.

Ten droids were escorting a group of fourteen people. Five women in orange and yellow full dresses and hoods, one guy who looked to be in charge of security, an old council man and finally a woman who was dressed up in black with a strange fan like piece attached just behind her head. I knew from her elegant clothes, that she was the Queen. Bringing up the rear was a squad of soldiers.

I turned back and grinned at my companions. "Jackpot!" I whispered softly before we got into positions along the bridge.

As they got closer and closer I pulled my LightDefender out and prepared myself. Then, at the right moment, we all vaulted over the bridge and proceeded to tear the enemy apart. After some fancy lightsaber work all the droids were on the ground, in pieces.

I turned to the Queen. She seemed a little surprised and in awe of the power of the Jedi. However now wasn't the time.

"We need to get off the streets people," I addressed the whole group and we began to make our way down a side walkway. I was in front with Jinn sticking close to the Queen and councillor and Kenobi bringing up the rear with the security officer and the girls, handmaidens I gathered, in front of them.

We walked a bit longer until we were completely out of sight from the street. I turned to the Queen.

"We're ambassadors from the Supreme Chancellor, your Highness," I said respectfully.

"Your negotiations seem to have failed, ambassador," said the old man.

I snorted. "There were none. We were jumped before anything could go down," I replied.

"It's urgent that we make contact with the Republic," said Jinn.

The security guy grimaced. "They've knocked out all our comms," he replied gravely.

"How bout a ride to Coruscant?" I asked.

The security officer nodded. "In the main hanger," he said while pointing up ahead. "This way." We then began to walk quickly to the hanger.

After several minutes but thankfully no encounters, we arrived at the main hanger. Inside there was a single ship. The entire ship was glossed and polished until the whole thing was one big mirror.

"Shiny," I commented as we crouched near the back entrance. I looked further to see a few dozen droids guarding the crew.

"There are too many of them!" said the security officer.

"Calm down," I said to him. "I got a plan." I then turned to the Queen and smiled sadly at her.

"I'm sorry but this situation has gotten out of hand. I suggest you come along with us to Coruscant."

"Thank you ambassador, but my place is with my people," she replied in a monotone.

I grinned slightly. "I thought you would say that," I said before continuing. "You understand that they will kill you if you stay. Right now you're better off trying to influence the politics on Coruscant to do something about this blockade than dead and used as an example to the other citizens."

"They can't do that," said the officer. "They need her signature to make the blockade legal."

"Ahh... sneaky bastards," I said before realising who was with us. "Pardon my language," I quickly apologized.

"There is something more behind this, your Highness," said Qui-Gon. "There's no logic in the Federations move here. Josh is right; I fear they will kill you."

"Our only hope is for the Senate to side with us," said the old man. "Senator Palpatine will need our help."

"Either choice presents us with great danger," said the Queen in the same tone. She turned to the closest of her handmaidens. "To us all," she added and my eyes narrowed slightly as the handmaiden answered that they were brave.

'A queen shouldn't need to ask her handmaiden that sort of question. Maybe they are close friends?' I wondered to myself before I spoke.

"If you're going to leave, now is definitely better than later. There won't be a second chance at this."

There was a long pause before the Queen answered. "Then I will plead our case to the Senate."

"Good choice," I said before I walked out the door with my fellow Jedi following. "Be careful," I heard the Queen say and I turned around and flashed her a foxy grin (AN: More like Naruto's than Gin's from Bleach. Seriously, that's creepy) before I continued forward with the rest of our group following behind.

"Kenobi, you take out the droids guarding the pilots. We'll handle the head tinny," I ordered. Obi-Wan nodded and split up to head towards the prisoners.

We continued forward to the entrance of the ship until we were stopped by a higher ranked droid. You could tell because his head was painted yellow.

"Halt!" said the droid.

"I'm an ambassador to the Supreme Chancellor, I'm taking these people to Coruscant," I said.

"Where are you taking them?" asked the droid.

'This one's not too smart,' I thought to myself as I had already said that.

"To Coruscant," I repeated, this time flowing a bit of force suggestion into my words.

"Coruscant... uhh... that doesn't compute... uhh... wait... umm... uhh..." I hid my laughter well as the poor droid tried to process what I had just said through the force fog I had created inside his mind. Unfortunately he seemed to decide that it was better taking the short cut by saying that we were under arrest.

"Wrong answer dumbass!" I said as Oathkeeper sliced through him and four of his subordinates in one swing. Jinn stepped to my side and we proceeded to wipe them out. As soon as this particular group were gone I ran over to the Queen and placed myself into a guard stance, protecting the group from laser bolts being fired from the rest of the droids. Kenobi quickly finished up and ordered the pilots to run for the ship and get it started. They quickly obeyed and scrambled across the floor to the ship.

By the time everyone was aboard, the droids were all defeated. We ran into the ship and moments later I stumbled slightly as the floor shifted, telling me that we just took off. As I passed Kenobi I asked him where JarJar was. He said that he left him in the droid compartment.

We then made our way to the bridge. "Well I'm glad the hard parts over," said Obi-Wan.

I peered out the front window and saw what was in front of us. "I don't think we've gotten to the hard part yet," I replied.

In our haste to escape the planet's surface we had forgotten about the blockade. We were reminded as the ships in orbit began to fire on us intensely. Only a few seconds after they started firing us, the consoles began to bleep red angry warning lights at us.

"Shield generator's been hit!" said the main pilot.

"Damn! They're not pussy footing around," I said.

A few seconds after that, a camera showed the damaged area and four droids working hard to bypass the damaged areas. However we were quickly loosing droids as the incoming fire blasted two off.

"We're losing droids!" said Obi-Wan, a little nervous now.

"If they can't get the shields fixed, we'll be sitting ducks!" said the security officer.

The third one was then blasted off, leaving a lone R2 unit desperately trying his best.

"Shields are gone!" said the pilot.

No more than two seconds after he said that, the consoles reversed their red lights to green as power flowed back into the shield gen. "Power's been restored!" said the pilot happily. "That little droid did it! He bypassed the main power drive! Deflector shields up at maximum."

We skimmed just over the surface of the main Trade Fed battleship to make it harder for their automated guns to fire and shot through the blockade.

"There's not enough power to get ourselves to Coruscant. The Hyperdrive is leaking," said the pilot, his tone back to being solemn.

"We'll have to land somewhere to repair and refuel," said Jinn.

"Masters," called Kenobi softly. "What about Tatooine? It's small, out of the way, poor. No presence of the Trade Federation."

"Yeah but the Hutts rule that planet. I've had a few dealings there in the past while gathering materials for my LightDefender. It's by no means safe. But it's the only place close by that will have what we need," I said.

"The Hutts are gangsters! You can't take her Highness there! If they discovered her..." argued the officer but I cut him off.

"It's better than landing on a Trade Fed controlled planet. At least here we'll be serviced, as long as we have money, of course," I explained. "I'm sorry, but our choices are limited. This is the safest way that I know." I turned to Jinn. "What do you think?"

"I agree with your reasoning's. And we'll be better off as you know what to expect," he said.

I nodded. "Plus the Hutts aren't looking for the Queen. That's our advantage."

We rested for an hour before going to the Queen's chamber. We arrived just as the security officer was presenting the droid that saved us all to the Queen.

"An extremely well put together little droid, you Highness. Without a doubt, it saved the ship, along with our lives."

"It is to be commended," said the Queen in the same monotone, however with a small amount of warmth. "What is it's number?"

The droid bleeped and whistled at us, which I translated into "The name's R2-D2!"

"Thank you R2-D2," said the Queen, to which the droid whistled appreciatively. "Padme," said the Queen and one of the handmaidens stepped to stand beside the droid. "Clean this droid up. It had earned our gratitude," she finished with a small smile. She then slipped back into the image of a strong leader. "Continue Capitan."

The Capitan nodded, however he just turned to us. I stepped forward. "You're not going to like this, but the damage we received cannot be repaired in mid flight. Therefore we must land on a planet to get repairs and refuel. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, the only planet within range that isn't controlled by the Trade Fed is Tatooine. However it is controlled by the Hutts. Tatooine is a hub for criminals and smugglers alike." Here I grinned. "Not quite as dangerous as Coruscant. Our advantage is that the Hutts aren't looking for you. If we make sure you aren't discovered, we can repair the ship and be outta there quickly. However it is your choice," I explained.

She was silent for a full minute before she nodded.

I clapped my hands together. "Great! Well I'm going to get some well deserved rest now. With your permission?" I asked. The Queen nodded before I turned around and walked out yawning with Qui-Gon and Kenobi behind me.

* * *

After a few hours of flying at hyperspeed, we arrived at Tatooine. The whole planet looked like one big dustbowl.

"There it is! Tatooine," said the pilot as we appeared on the bridge.

"There's a settlement," said Obi-Wan as he was looking at the scans of the planet. I looked at the spot he was talking about. "Ahh! Mos Espa! Home to the Boonta Eve Classic podrace track. It's been awhile," I said fondly.

"You've been here before?" asked Kenobi.

"Yeah! I have. I needed funds to claim a rather rare type of metal so I built a podracer and raced this track. Won first place. However I was under the guise of another and my real identity was kept a secret, so they still believe that no human has won this race before. Clueless bastards," I grinned.

"You really get around, don't you?" asked the pilot.

"Yeah. Land near the outskirts, if you please. We don't want to announce to everyone that we're here."

"Yes sir!" said the pilot. We left the bridge as he parked the ship down to a spot a good walks away from one of the many access points to the city.

In the engine room, Obi-Wan was checking the hyperdrive engine. He looked up and shook his head. It didn't need to be said that the drive was stuffed from the trip.

"Great. Now we need to buy a new one," I complained. "Maybe I'll have to enter the race again to gain the necessary funds to repair the ship."

"We have Republic credits to take care of the money issue," said Jinn.

"Sorry Qui-Gon old boy, but you need cold, hard cash to please these guys. I doubt Jeji mind tricks will work on most of them as their greed surpasses any mind-altering techniques we use," I explained. I then broke off as I felt a ripple in the Force. Dark intentions pulsed out from somewhere, creating small waves in the force.

"Did you feel that?" I asked. I got nods from the other two.

"That can't be good," I said before turning to Kenobi. "Jinn, JarJar and I will go into the city to find the parts we need. You stay here and make sure they don't send any transmissions. They'll probably be traced." Kenobi nodded.

We then exited the room and the ship. Outside it was as hot as I remembered. Tatooine's two suns blasted any and all clouds out of the sky. The only way water could be harvested was through moisture gatherers placed all around the planet. Any other water sources were deep wells or was imported. We took along Artoo just in case.

We had only gotten a few meters away when a call came from behind us. We turned to see that it was the Capitan and a woman that was familiar, though I couldn't place where I had seen her before. The Capitan and the young lady caught up with us. "Her Highness requests that you take along her handmaiden with you." I looked closer to realise that it was Padme, the one who cleaned up Artoo. Having a closer look at her I saw that she was quite young, no more than fourteen standard years.

"Uh... you do realise that we're going into dangerous territory? No place for a handmaiden," I said, trying not to disrespect Padme too much.

"The Queen wishes it, she's curious about the planet," replied the Capitan, however I could tell he wasn't too thrilled with the idea either.

I sighed before relenting. "Ok, you can come," I said before I continued to walk toward the city with my companions and our new group member. "Just don't do anything stupid, which is quite easy to do in this sort of place, believe me," I added without looking back.

* * *

AN: Another day, another chapter. Review up please. I know that the storyline is relatively the same but this will change soon. Just hand in there.


	4. Episode III: Instant Friends

**Episode III: Instant Friends**

"Ahh, it's been awhile," I said as we entered the city. It was reasonably busy. "Sure is good being back."

"When was the last time you were here?" asked Jinn.

"About 5 years ago," I replied. "Moisture farms occupy most of the inhabitable surface. Indigenous tribes take up the rest. And the few spaceports here are great places to hide from any official activity."

"Like us," said Padme, sounding a little down.

"Don't worry. I know a guy here. He'll be able to help us, as long as we've got the cash," I assured her.

"Dis is very, very bad..." mumbled Jar Jar before I heard a squishing noise. I cringed slightly as Jar Jar exclaimed a few choice words as he tried to wipe the excrement off his foot.

The architecture was standard for Tatooine; made up of the usual dome roofed, stone buildings. From above ground, the place didn't look like much, but it was underground where most of the living happened.

"This city began as a mining village before the Hutts gained control. They turned the place into a thriving, but dangerous town. Then the Hutts introduced Podracing to the area to encourage gambling," I continued my historical commentary of the place, more for Padme then for anyone else. "The place I spoke of is right around here." I turned left and entered a small, out of the way spot. There was a tinkling of the doorbell and a Toydarian looked up to see me enter with Jinn, Binks and Padme.

"Wait a minute... Is that you Josh?" he asked in Huttese.

"The one and only," I grinned before walking further into the shop. "How are you doing Watto?"

"Not bad, not bad," he replied in Galactic Basic speech, but still with a heavy Huttese accent. "And how are you? Been quite a while."

"Five years," I said.

"Has it really been that long? Did you ever finish that project you were working on?"

I smiled and showed him my LightDefender. He looked at it with a practiced eye. "Ohhhh, very good craftsmanship here. Very rare materials too. And this is the metal that you bought from me," he said, pointing to the metal covering.

"Yep. White Mythril for the covering with BrightSteel for the decoration. The two crystals used are both high quality Nox crystals," I said. Jinn whistled at the ultra-rare materials that were listed off.

"Anyway, we didn't come here simply to say hello. We're in need of parts for a J-type 327 Nubian?" I asked.

"Ahh, Nubian. We have lots of that," he said before turning around. "Boy! Get in here!" he yelled in Huttese and moments later a boy roughly 9 years old, with light brown hair and intelligent blue eyes ran in from the back.

"What took you so long?" Watto said to the kid, still using Huttese.

"I was cleaning up the parts that you told me to clean," replied the kid, also in Huttese.

"Never mind that and watch the store. I've got business to handle," replied the Toydarian before he switched back to Galactic Basic. "Let me take you out back and we'll see what I've got."

"Jinn, take Artoo and find what we need. I'll stay here for a bit," I said, avoiding the real reason why I wanted to stay behind. I didn't know why, but I felt an odd connection with the kid. I couldn't explain it, unless I got into hardcore Jedi lingo, but I wasn't going to do that; it would give me a headache. I pulled a piece of equipment out of the gungan's hands before anything serious could happen. "Jar Jar! Lookie, no touchie. Ok?"

"Ok..." he replied, put out. I turned around but felt Binks poke his very long tongue out at me. I just shook my head before going to lean my body up against the counter.

There was a bit of silence before the kid spoke, however it wasn't to me.

"Are you an angel?" he asked Padme. She turned around, slightly flustered. "What?" she asked.

"An angel. I heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They live on the moons of Yego, I think," he replied. It was obvious he was smitten by Padme. I didn't blame him. Padme was quite beautiful. She wasn't my type though. 'Now Aayla Secura, that was one sexy woman. Pity she was attracted to Kit Fisto. I swear, that grinning bastard get's all the women! Aayla's recently knighted padawan was cute too, but she's a little too young for me. She'll grow up into one hot piece of woman though.'

"You're a funny little boy," replied Padme before they both looked at me when I began to laugh quietly. I grinned and shook my head at them. "Don't mind me," I said however my grin stayed on my face.

"So how do you know so much?" asked Padme.

"I listen to all the traders and smugglers who come through," explained the boy. He then spoke to the both of us. "I'm a pilot, you know, and someday I'm going to fly away from this place."

"There are places better than this dust bowl. That's for sure," I said.

"Where have you been?" he asked me, his attention completely on me.

"I've been to quite a few places. One place that continues to blow me away every time I go there is Crevasse City on Alderaan. It's not the most beautiful city ever; that goes to a close tie between Aldera, also on Alderaan, and Theed on Naboo," here I smiled at Padme. "but the way it's constructed is cool. It's located in a canyon, hence the name. It has no spaceport, but public transportation links the city with Aldera, which handles all the city's space traffic. The city boasts creature comforts of all kinds, including restaurants, bars, and parks, and by reputation has the best hotels on the planet.

"The city is constructed downwards, meaning the oldest buildings are on the surface, with the newer facilities being built lower into the crevasse. The lowest levels of the crevasse remain untouched throughout Alderaan's history and feature a maze of caverns containing beautiful crystal formations, hot springs, and underground lakes.

"The surface of Crevasse City receives no more than six hours of sunlight a day, and the city streets and hallways are filled with artificial lighting built into the architecture in various artistic and clever forms. The colours of the lights take on unique meanings: white for death and mourning, blue for happiness, green for love, silver for prosperity, and orange for danger or warning.

"Finally the whole city is powered by geothermal energy, which keeps the whole place pollution free. And all this blends in completely with the surrounding nature; doesn't clash at all." I finished up and looked at my audience of two who were totally wrapped into my description.

"Wow..." said the kid, his eyes shining with so much longing that it wrenched at my heart. I knew what this kid was classed as. A slave. He wasn't going places. Not until he gained or bought his freedom. I wished there was something I could do. The link between him and me was faint but it was worth fighting for, if only to satisfy my own curiosity. However we were on a tight schedule and I wouldn't have time to wait for a Boonta Eve Classic race to come around as well as build a new podracer as my original was locked away at my summer home on Alderaan, just to earn some Druggat to buy his freedom.

"So," I said, wanting to get my mind off such matters. "You're a pilot?" I asked.

"Yep! All my life," he said.

"How long have you been working here?" I asked.

"Since I was very little. Three, I think."

'Yep, that sounds about right for a slave to start working,' I thought.

"My mom and I were sold to Gardula the Hutt, but she lost us when she bet on the podraces to Watto," continued the kid.

"You're a slave?" asked Padme emotionlessly, withholding her shock and disgust at the fact. The kid mistook her emotionless words for contempt and glared at her. "I'm a person and my name is Anakin," he finally introduced himself.

"Don't misunderstand Anakin," I butted in. "Padme here was just pushing her feelings out of her words. Where we're from, slavery is very frowned upon. But Watto's a good dealer. At least, I don't think he's bad."

"He's not," Anakin defended. "He's not as bad as some of the other dealers."

"Well that's something at least," I said. "By the way. The name's Josh. Josh Kitsune. Your name's Anakin, right?"

"That's right. Anakin Skywalker," the kid replied. I outstretched my hand to him and he took it with a grin. "Good to meet you kiddo," I said.

"Same here," he grinned.

There was a sudden crash as Jar Jar activated a traditional pit droid for the podraces. The droid began to walk away, Binks clumsily trying to catch it. We all watched in amusement as the gungan finally got a hold on the droid.

I sighed. "Dumbass," I muttered in amusement.

"Hey! Hit the nose!" said Anakin.

"Oh," said Jar Jar and he let go of the droid before poking the nose. The droid immediately folded up into its original position.

"Wouldn't of lasted as long as it has if I wasn't so good at building things," muttered Anakin.

At that point Jinn walked back into the store, looking quite miffed. "From the look on your face I'm guessing the usual trick didn't work on him?" I asked. He simply walked past.

"Heh, he's sulking," I whispered to Anakin and Padme, who both grinned widely at me.

"C'mon Padme, Binks," I said as I straightened up off the counter.

"Will I ever see you again?" Anakin asked me. I smile kindly at him. "I have a feeling we will," I said mysteriously before walking out of the store.

"I'm glad to have met you Anakin," said Padme as she followed me.

"I'm glad to have met you too," called the kid as we exited the store. I caught up to Qui-Gon. "So? What was his price?" I asked.

"Five hundred Druggat," he said shortly.

"Ouch! I have some druggat but not that much. Most of my money is back at home or in a Coruscant bank. We would be better off buying a small cruiser and slugging that over to Coruscant," I said.

"So what's our options now?" he asked.

"We ask Obi-Wan to see if there's anything at all we can sell. But beyond that, I'm out of ideas," I said.

If I was hoping for any good news when Qui-Gon contacted Kenobi, then I was outta luck. There was only a few crates of general supplies and the Queen's wardrobe, but there wasn't enough to cover 500 druggat.

"Alright. I'm sure something'll come up," I said optimistically. "We'll talk later." I then shut off the communicator and we continued to wander the streets of Mos Espa. However it wasn't long before Jar Jar got into trouble. It was something about not paying for something he was going to eat. When Jar Jar heard the price he immediately spat it out. That was when it got ugly. The rejected morsel hit a Dug. A violent Dug. He jumped out and kicked Jar Jar in the chest, who was hoping to not get noticed. It was about to get nasty and I was about to use the Force to create an unfortunate accident to him when Anakin appeared on the scene.

There was a brief interaction but it seemed that Anakin had this. I waited before the Dug walked off, snickering to himself. I then walked up to him. "Nice going kiddo," I said.

"Hey, your buddy was about to be turned into orange goo. He picked a fight with a Dug. An extremely dangerous Dug known as Sebulba."

"Mesa hatin' crunching. That's the last thing mesa want," said Binks.

"Well maybe you shouldn't just eat what doesn't belong to you. Remember what I said? Lookie, no touchie?" I said.

"Yes..." said Jar Jar like a scolded child.

"Try to remember next time," I finished up. I then nodded at Anakin. "Thanks for breaking that up for us," I said.

"No problem," he replied as we began to walk around again, but now Anakin tagged along. We stopped so Anakin could pick up some food. He gave me a bit of something, I didn't know what exactly, but I took it. I pulled back my trench coat to place it into one of my pockets, but I saw the boy get an eyeful of Oathkeeper before the coat was drawn about me.

"Oh my old bones are aching," said the old woman shopkeeper. "Storm's coming up Ani. You better get home quick!" she warned.

"A duststorm. Great, that's all we need," I said sarcastically. By this time we had decided to return to the ship, but with the storm out, there was a good chance that we could get lost. "We need to get a roof over our heads. We won't make it to the ship in the storm."

"You can stay at my place," offered Anakin.

"Great!" I said as the boy began to lead the way to his home. By the time we got there, the storm was in full gear and was blasting sand down the streets of Mos Espa.

We walked inside and shook ourselves slightly to get the sand out of our hair. "Man, I'm going to be pulling out sand particles all the way to Coruscant," I complained mildly.

"Mom! I'm home!" called Anakin and from one of the other rooms walked in an older woman who looked to be in her thirties, but it was hard to judge as she looked much older than that from her being a slave.

"These are my new friends ma," said the kid.

"Sorry for barging in like this, but we needed shelter and your son very kindly offered us some," I said as an explanation. "My name is Josh Kitsune. This is Qui-Gon Jinn, Padme and Jar Jar Binks," I pointed to each one in turn and they said hello.

"You want to see the droid I'm building?" Anakin asked me and Padme. Without waiting he took our hands and began to drag us to his room, Artoo following, seemingly curious to the droid. "C'mon, I'll show you."

We got to his room and there, on his work bench, was a humanoid droid. He didn't look like much as he didn't have casing to protect his inner workings, but the fact that this kid made him from scratch was amazing.

"Isn't he great?" he asked, awaiting our approval.

"He's awesome!" I explained. Anakin got a huge grin on his face. "You really think so?"

"Hell yeah!" I grinned before ruffling his hair in a brotherly manner.

"He's a protocol droid I built to help mom," he explained as he straightened up his hair. "Watch." He then flicked a switch just under the droid's neck and turned him on.

"Ohh! Oh, where is everyone?" asked the droid in a polite form of Galactic Basic. And what he said made sense as he was missing his right eye.

"Opps," said Anakin before reaching behind him and picking up the eye. He plugged it into the right socket.

"Oh, hello. I am C-3PO, human cyborg relations. How might I serve you?" he said.

"Damn! He really is awesome!" I repeated. And it was true. Most droids on the commercial market were still speaking quite unemotionally. However this droid was certainly more human-like then first appearances suggested. His voice mimicked the emotions from a human well. And it was all home built.

"He's perfect," grinned Padme, very impressed with Anakin's handiwork.

"Oh, perfect?" asked Threepio, more to himself than anyone.

"When the storm is over, I'll show you my racer. I'm building a podracer," boasted Anakin.

"Wow. You really are versatile with building. I'm guessing you got the parts from Watto?" I asked as Threepio chatted with Artoo.

"Yep," the kid answered.

"Oh I don't believe we have been introduced," said Threepio to Artoo, who beeped back a greeting. "R2-D2, a pleasure to meet you. I am C-3PO, human cyborg relations." Artoo replied with a lengthy stream of binary. "I beg your pardon, but what do you mean, naked?" asked Threepio. Artoo replied that his parts were showing. "My goodness!" said the droid in shock. I laughed loudly at this, with Anakin and Padme joining in.

At that point my communicator vibrated, indicating that I had an incoming message. "Scuse me but I have a call to take," I said to Padme and Anakin before walking out of the room and joining up with Qui-Gon. I then turned on the device.

"This is Kitsune speaking."

"Master Kitsune," came Obi-Wan's voice from the communicator. "There was a message from Naboo. One of the council members is saying that the people are suffering and asking for the Queen to contact him. I said not to reply."

"Sounds like they're getting desperate to find us," I commented.

"But what if it is true, and the people are dying?" asked Kenobi.

"Either way we're running out of time..." said Qui-Gon before I hung up.

* * *

"All slaves have a transpond marker embedded somewhere in their bodies," Anakin's mother explained. While we were having lunch the talking topic somehow changed to how slave masters are able to locate any slave that tries to escape.

"I've been working on a scanner to try to locate mine," explained Ani.

"Any attempt to escape..." began Shmi.

"And they blow you up. Boom!" finished the boy gloomily.

"I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy," murmured Padme.

"Ahh, to be young and ignorant at the same time," I said wistfully. "But then again, you are just 14 years old and have little to no experience with the darker side of life."

"But the Republic's anti-slavery laws are-" began Padme but Shmi cut her off.

"The Republic doesn't exist out here," she explained. "We must survive on our own." At that point JarJar's very long tongue shot forward and snatched a piece of fruit from the bowl on the table. I glared at him for a while until he gulped. "Excuse me," he said before I let up.

"Has anyone seen a podrace before?" asked Anakin in an effort to change the subject.

"I've raced before," I said, earning a shocked look from the boy before it melted into awe. "Really?" he asked in slight disbelief.

"Yeah. You heard of a racer simply called 'The Flying Fox'? Won the Boonta Eve Classic 5 years ago." I asked.

Anakin nodded. "Yeah. He was a masked guy who didn't say much. No one knew if he was human or not." He paused and looked at me as I allowed myself to smile. "You mean... you...!"

"Yeah, that was me. I needed money to acquire some rare materials at the time so I put together a pod and raced," I said simply, not giving anything away. However it seemed that Anakin was quite bright when it came to connecting all the dots.

"Materials for building your laser sword?" he asked innocently. I sighed. "Yeah, kiddo."

"Josh! What are you doing?" asked Qui-Gon as he had been expecting me to deny everything.

"Relax Jinn, the kid got an eyeful of my weapon on the way here," I said.

"Man," said the boy, clearly bummed out about something. "And here I thought I was the only human who can race well."

"You can race as well?" I asked. 'If only this guy was an Initiate at the Temple. I would of snatched him up in an instant,' I thought. At this point JarJar made for another quick snatch himself but I clamped my hand down on his tongue. "Don't do that. It's not polite." I pulled the offending muscle before letting go quickly, letting it slap JarJar in the face. "Dumbass," I added.

"Yep! ...So have you come to free us?" he asked with hope shining in his eyes.

I sighed. "I'm sorry Anakin, but no, we haven't."

"I think you have. Why else would you be here?" he asked, clearly not going to let this go.

I sighed again, seeing no choice other than to tell him certain facts. "It seems that I have to tell you part of the reason why we're here. We were on our way to Coruscant, the core world of the Republic, on a very important mission. However in an attack our ship was damaged, the hyperdrive, and so we were forced to land here to buy repairs. I came to Watto's Junk Yard as I had dealings with him in the past, but I underestimated the cost for a new hyperdrive. 500 druggat is needed but I only have 35. So we're stuck until I can find a way to save up more."

There was silence for a while before Anakin spoke up. "I can help. I can fix anything."

I smiled. "I have little doubt that you could kiddo, but I know a thing or two about hyperdrives myself and I can safely say that a replacement is essential, along with a few other parts."

"There has to be a weakness that these Junk Dealers have," asked Padme.

"There is Padme," I replied. "And it's gambling. They can never resist the urge to multiply their bet many times over if they win. Most of the gambling is centred on the podraces."

"Greed can be a powerful ally," said Qui-Gon.

"My ship's the fastest ship ever! There's a big race tomorrow at Boonta Eve. You could enter my pod," suggested Anakin.

"Anakin..." warned Shmi. "Watto won't let you!"

"Watto doesn't even know I built it!" He then turned to me. "You could convince him that it was yours and get him to let me pilot it for you."

"I won't let you. I die every time Watto makes you do it," Shmi tried to reason with the kid.

"But mom, I love it! The prize money would more than pay for the repairs to their ship."

"Anakin..." began his mother but I butted in.

"Sorry kiddo, but I'm with your mother on this one. While I do agree with you that Podracing is awesome, I would feel horrible if you ended up dying when I knew that I could of talked you out of it." I felt bad telling this to him, as for some reason I trusted this kid. But I could never, in good conscious, let this boy race with such a high mortality rate. I turned back to Shmi. "Is there anyone friendly to the Republic that can help us?" I asked, though I knew the answer already.

"No," was the simple answer I received.

"Thought so."

There was a silence before Anakin once again broke the silence. "Mom, you said the biggest problem in this universe is that nobody helps each other."

Shmi sighed heavily at that.

"I'm sure Josh would never want to put your son in danger," said Padme. "Well find some other way."

"... there is no other way," said Shmi. "I may not like it, but he can help you. He was meant to help you." Ani looked up at his mother before looking at me. I sighed again before grinning. "Well let's see if I can pressure Watto into getting you to race tomorrow."

* * *

AN: Reviews up people! Let me know what you think?


	5. Episode IV: Don't Tell The Council I'm B

**Episode IV: "Don't Tell The Council I'm Betting"**

It wasn't long after that the sandstorm subsided and we could go outside. Qui-Gon, JarJar, Padme and I made our way back to Watto's Junk shop. But someone didn't like what we were doing.

"Are you sure about this? Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know? The Queen will not approve," argued Padme.

"Ahh man! Stop being such a worry wart! I don't like it either but I don't know any other way short of betting on the races tomorrow, and we could lose my whole stash if we bet wrong. I would drive the pod racer myself but not only would I be racing in an unfamiliar racer, and I would probably lose because of that simple fact, but the pod is most likely built for Anakin's use only. I would be too big. And besides, what the Queen doesn't know, won't hurt her," I replied.

"Well I don't approve," she pouted as she sat down on a bench outside Watto's place. I sighed before turning to Jinn. "Teenagers," I said before we walked inside, a smile on both our faces.

As soon as we walked in, Watto and Anakin walked up to us. Watto glared at me slightly. "The boy tells me you want to sponsor him in the race tomorrow. How can you do this! Not on republic credits I think." He was referring to the entrance fee for the race.

I looked at Qui-Gon, who pulled out an Imagecaster and activated it. A projection of a J-type 327 Nubian appeared hovering over the disk.

"My ship will be the fee," I said. I saw Anakin look at the image with awe, likely he'd never seen a Nubian ship before. "Ohhh, not bad, not bad," said Watto. "Nubian, huh."

"It's in good order, except for the parts we need," I said.

"But what would the boy ride? He smashed up my pod in the last race," he said. "It would talk long time to fix it."

"It wasn't my fault, really!" Anakin protested. "Sebulba flashed me with his vents. I actually saved the pod... mostly."

"That you did," said Watto with a smile. "The boy's good, no doubts there."

"Well I won myself a pod in a game of chance," I said, referring to one of the most simplest forms of gambling in the galaxy. It was a simple die with half the sides coloured one colour and the rest with a completely different colour. It was also done with a coin. If the die, or coin, landed on the colour, or side, you chose, then you would win. However there was a high chance that the guy's dice was loaded, meaning that it could only land on a certain side, or set of sides. So you had to be careful and test the die out before play.

"The guy I won it from claimed it was the fastest ever built," I finished. I wasn't lying as I really did bet Anakin for his podracer. So it was mine now.

"I hope you didn't kill anyone I know for it," said the Toydarian. "So, you supply the pod and entry fee, I supply the boy, we split the winnings 50/50, I think."

"Don't try to screw me Watto," I glared as I thought that was grossly unfair. If I was going to use the ship for an entry fee then only 80/20 would suffice.

"I have an idea. You pay for the entry fee and if we win, you keep all the winnings minus what is needed to buy the parts necessary. But if we lose, you keep my ship. Either way, you win." I stood there, hoping he would take the very enticing offer.

As Watto was trying to look at this from as many angles as possible, I sent a discreet grin to Anakin, which was mirrored by him.

"Deal!" cried out Watto and he slapped my hand in agreement. I exited but not before I heard Watto speak in Huttese, "Your friend is very foolish I think."

* * *

We walked back to Anakin's place and spent the remainder of the day there. Currently we were outside at the back of his house where Anakin's Podracer was floating as Anakin, Threepio, Artoo and JarJar worked on it. It was an impressive racer. Not many adults could build such a thing so well from scrap parts and yet here was a boy of 9 building it with ease. The design of the pod I recognised. Like Anakin, I too was extremely good with mechanics. I had to be if I could create the LightDefender. I asked him questions every now and then and quickly got an idea of how good his podracer was.

Anakin Skywalker's podracer was constructed from a pair of Radon-Ulzer 620c turbines. One engine was put together from spare parts in Watto's junkyard. These parts included the burned-out turbines from Watto's own podracer, which Anakin had eventually crashed. The other engine was acquired when Anakin bartered with Jawas. He modified the engines heavily, notably by improving the fuel injection system in order to increase thrust. Anakin attached triple yellow air scoops to these engines to give the vehicle optimal maneuverability, especially while turning. The cockpit was attached to the massive motors by steelton control cables. Despite having not being tested, by my calculations the racer could reach breakneck speeds in the area of 950 kilometres an hour (590 mph). It certainly was a speedy beast.

"What if this plan fails Masters. We could be stuck here a very long time," asked Obi-Wan over the communicator. Qui-Gon and I were reporting in.

"Well we can't call for help as the Trade Fed will be scanning the channels, and a ship without a hyperdrive and power supply won't get us very far. This is the only way I can see us getting to Coruscant in a short amount of time." I paused before continuing. "And there's something about this kid. I can't explain it. When I first saw him I felt a bond between us instantly form. Since that moment it's only gotten much stronger. I've only known him for several hours and yet it feels like I've known him for years. I wish to see where this is taking me, so we're staying." I then hung up. I looked to see Qui-Gon looking at me in an amused way.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. I just think that you might of found your Padawan," he replied.

"Who? Kiddo?" I asked incredulously before the implications of what he said fully impacted me. I stood there, silent for a while before looking over to the kid.

"You know? That doesn't sound like a bad idea..." I broke off as I heard Shmi walk out of the back door.

"I'm sure your very proud of your son. He does things most men four times his age can't," I said to her. "Not only that, but he gives without any thought of reward."

"Well he knows nothing of greed. He has an..." she broke off as though she didn't know how to explain it.

"He has special powers," I simply said. Shmi looked at me before nodding. "He can see things before they happen. That's why he appears to have such quick reflexes. It's a Jedi quirk."

"He deserves much more than a slaves life," said Shmi sadly.

"It's too bad he wasn't born in the Republic. There would have been a good chance that he would have received Jedi training. The Force is unusually strong around him, that much is certain." I then flowed the force into my eyes, allowing me to see his force aura. I had already done so at one point, but it was always beautiful to watch. The force flamed around him slowly, enveloping him in a cloak of blue light, shining like a beacon in the night. It was the largest untamed Force Aura I had ever seen. Surpassed any of the Initiates in the Jedi Temple.

I switched off my force sight ability and turned to Shmi. "Who was his father?" I asked, though the answer was not one I expected.

"There was no father. I carried him, gave birth, raised him. I can't explain what happened."

"Hmmm, now that's very interesting," I murmured as my mind jumped to lightspeed.

"Can you help him?"

I looked into her eyes. "I can't be sure, but I'll do everything I can to free him and if possible, you as well. A boy his age shouldn't have to part with their mother. Leave it to me." She smiled before the sound of laughter flooded into the vicinity as a bunch of kids ran into the area where Anakin was working. I decided to join the kid as well and so made my way down to where everyone was gathering at.

"Hey Ani!" some of them called.

"Hey guys!" the kid called back, pushing up a set of welding goggles and looked at his friends. I walked up behind them and observed.

"Wow! A real astrodroid!" said a kid as he looked at Artoo talking with Threepio. "How do you get so lucky?"

"That isn't the half of it!" Anakin boasted. "I'm entering the Boonta Eve race tomorrow!"

"What?" asked the same kid as he looked at the pod in front of him. "In this?"

"You're such a joker Ani," said a Rodian kid.

"You've been working on that thing for years," said an older girl.

"It's not going to run," stated a younger girl.

"Come on guys, let's go play ball. Keep racing Ani, you're going to be bug squash," said an offending red head. They moved off, but not before the redhead tripped and fell into a pile of dung, thanks to me tripping him with the force. Everyone laughed at him and ran off with the kid blushing as red as his hair following.

I saw that JarJar was busy screwing in a part when Anakin called to him. "Hey JarJar?" Anakin asked, causing the gungan to drop his tool. "Keep away from those energy binders. If your hand touches one, it'll go numb for hours."

"Ok," murmured Binks as he reached down to grasp the tool. However he wasn't as careful standing up as he was bending over and so he jammed his whole head into the beam. I slapped my hand to my face. "Stars, JarJar. Can you get anymore clumsy?"

Apparently he could as he tried to find the tool he dropped yet again after being zapped. The tool had fallen down a hole in the right engine. JarJar proceeded to try and get it out, but then got his hand stuck inside.

I shook my head. "Introducing Jar Jar, the eighth wonder of the galaxy," I muttered sarcastically.

"You know, I find that JarJar creature to be a little... odd," said Threepio.

"You don't know the half of it," beeped Artoo.

"You don't even know if this thing is going to run?" asked the kid who had spoken first as he had stayed behind.

"It will," I said as I walked up beside Anakin as he slid into the cockpit. I handed him a small but powerful Power Cell. "Use this for the ignition," I suggested.

"Yes sir!" he said enthusiastically.

"Come on," I said to the kid. "Let's move away." We backed off before I remembered that JarJar was still stuck with his hand inside the engine. But Padme helped get the gungan's hand free before anything messy happened.

Anakin flipped a few switches and the engine roared into life. The engines levelled out to a nice sound and I grinned. "It's working! IT'S WORKING!" Anakin yelled over the sound of the engines. He looked so happy.

* * *

Later on when it was night, Anakin and I were sitting outside. I was currently cleaning a cut on his arm after I collected a blood sample. While the reason I gave to Anakin was that I was checking for blood infections, the underlying main reason was that the sample could be scanned by Obi-Wan.

"Stay still," I chuckled as he squirmed around slightly, getting comfortable. "I'm trying to clean this cut. We don't want you getting an infection and you having to bum out of the race because you caught something." The kid immediately stilled, the thought of not racing tomorrow was enough to make him as still as a statue.

"There's so many!" exclaimed Anakin and I looked to his face, to see he was fixated on the stars above him. "Do they all have a system of planets?"

"A good many do. However they are uninhabited because they can't sustain lifeforms," I explained. "But that's only about one third of the lot as many previously uninhabited worlds have been colonized in the distant past."

"Has anybody been to them all?"

"I doubt it," I replied.

"I want to be the first one to see them all!" he declared. I smiled. "A worthy goal to be sure. Captain Anakin Skywalker. Explorer Extraordinaire." We both laughed. I then applied the small medical band as Shmi called Anakin in for a bath before bed.

"Ow!" the kid exclaimed as I pressed the band firmly so it wouldn't slip off in the race tomorrow. "All done kid. Now, go do as your mother says," I said as I placed my hand on his back and pushed him in the direction of the door. He did so, and almost stumbled into Qui-Gon as he was exiting.

"Opps, sorry Qui-Gon sir," he said before quickly ducking through the door.

As the senior Jedi walked over to me, I slipped Anakin's blood sample into a small data stick and connected the stick to the communicator.

"Obi-Wan, you there?" I spoke into the communicator.

"I am Master. What's wrong?" he replied.

"What? Can't a guy check on his friend every now and then?" I asked in a fake hurt tone. I heard Obi-Wan laugh softly. "I just need a data scan on a blood sample. Can you do that for me?"

"Sure."

"Ok, sending the data now. I need a Midi-chlorian count. I used my Force Sight to see his Force Aura and it's huge, but it's always good to get an accurate count," I described. There was a pause as the data was analysed. When Kenobi spoke again, his voice was thick with disbelieve.

"The readings are off the chart! Over 20,000. Not even Master Yoda has a count that high."

"Josh does," said Qui-Gon as he joined into the conversation.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what it is either as the chart doesn't rise above 20,000. It's one of the very _few _reasons I was allowed to train at the Temple. But this is very interesting," I added.

"What does it mean?" asked Kenobi.

I paused. What did it mean? Was he actually the one that the prophecy spoke of? Or was it simply a freak of nature. Whatever it was, it was clear that Anakin was very special.

"I dunno, but this requires more observation." I broke off as I realised that Shmi had been listening in. However as I looked at her she simply walked back inside.

* * *

The arena was bustling with activity. Spectators were getting ready for the race while mobile shopkeepers bawled out their wares to anyone willing to listen. Underneath the stands was where the real action began. Many bookies took bets while speakers shouted out the odds for each racer. I pushed my way to the front and placed my whole wallet on the counter.

"35 druggat on Anakin Skywalker!" I called out to the bookie and despite the roar of the crowd, quite a few people looked at me incredulously.

"You serious? Sure his odds are 100/1 but it would be safer going with Sebulba," rasped the bookie.

"I feel like going for the underdog. Besides, he might get lucky!" I called back. The people who had overheard me laughed loudly before going back to what they were doing.

"Whatever man. It's your money. What's the name?"

"Kitsune." I wrote my signature on the form and pushed the piece of paper along with my wallet under the reinforced glass wall. The bookie counted the money before nodding. "Ok, you're in. NEXT!"

I then quickly made my way to the hanger where all the racers were doing last minute checkup's before the event. I met up with Watto and we walked down to where Anakin was parked.

"I want to see your ship the moment the race is over!" he demanded.

"Sure, sure. Don't worry Watto. You know I'm good for it," I replied.

"I warn you. No funny business!"

"Hey! I resent that!" I protested. "You don't think Anakin can win?" I asked after a moment.

"Don't get me wrong. The boy's good; a credit to your race. But Sebulba is the crowd favourite and the one with the highest win streak," said Watto as he pointed to a spot next to me. I looked to see said racer getting a massage by two very hot blue Twi'leks. I was slightly aroused at the sight of how their skin tight jumpsuits clung to their shapely forms. They were well endowed too.

"Damn," I muttered as I let my eyes run over their curves, especially their legs and ass. I shook myself mentally. 'Mind out of the gutter, Josh!' I thought to myself forcefully.

"I'm betting everything on Sebulba!" Watto laughed.

I paused as a plan formulated in my head. This was my chance! "I'll take that bet!" I announced.

"What?" Watto said in a slightly startled tone.

"I wager my podracer against say..." here I pretended to thing about the other end of the bet for a moment. "The kid and his mother." I finished up.

"No pod is worth two slaves!" growled the blue Toydarian. "Not by a longshot!"

"The kid then," I relented.

"Hmmm... well..." Watto struggled, his common sense pitted against his greed. Eventually the greed won out. He pulled out a red and blue painted chance cube and grinned. "We'll let fate decide. Blue is the boy, Red, his mother."

I nodded, already realising that the die was probably loaded. But I had an unseen ally. As soon as Watto threw the die onto the ground, I manipulated the latent energies of the universe, or the Force, and made sure that the die faced up blue.

Watto looked at the die before growling in disappointment at me. "Very well. You may have won this small toss outlander, but you won't win the race, so it makes little difference." He was about to fly off to his viewing box in the stands but I held him back. "By the way, how much would it cost to free the woman?"

"2000 druggat!" he said instantly. The amount was quite high for a slave, but Watto was probably feeling spiteful at the moment from his loss. It didn't matter as if Anakin won the race, I would win myself 3500 druggat. Plenty to free Anakin's mother. Watto flapped away, mumbling darkly to himself.

"Clever," said Qui-Gon as he had watched the entire scene. "But how are you going to come across 2000 druggat?"

"Well I made a small bet downstairs on Anakin. If I win, I get 3500 druggat," I said, grinning. "Don't tell the Council I'm betting. No need to rile them up more after they hear that I'm taking Ani as my apprentice."

"They would be put out, that's for sure," said Jinn, who was grinning as well.

At that point, two animals native to Tatooine walked into the hanger. One carried Shmi and Ani's friend from yesterday, and the other had the kid himself with Padme sitting behind him. He looked quite happy, and I was sure that the upcoming race was only partly the source of that grin.

"Better stop your friend betting, or I'll end up owning him, too," said Watto in Huttese before flapping off, laughing to himself.

"What did he mean by that?" asked Anakin as I hefted him off the animal.

"Well that's for me to know and for you to find out after you win," I said simply. Over at the pod, Threepeo and Artoo were talking to themselves.

"Oh my! Space travel sounds rather perilous," answered Threepeo to Artoo's explanation of the blockade break we did a few days ago. He beeped and whistled back.

"I can assure you they'll never get me on one of those dreadful starships," added Threepeo.

"This is so wizard Ani," said his friend. "I'm sure you'll do it this time."

"Do what?" asked Padme curiously.

"Finish the race, of course," finished the friend.

Padme seemed to freeze as her brain processed what she just heard. "You've never won a race?"

"Well... not exactly..." said Anakin, trying to cover up his past failures.

"Not even finished?" she asked incredulously.

"Kitster's right," said Anakin, giving a name to his friend. "I will win this time."

I placed my hands on his shoulders from behind him and he looked up to see my confident face. "Of course you will Kiddo. We all have faith in your skills." I looked at Padme to see her glare at me. "Ohh, scary, scary," I muttered, too soft for Anakin and Kitster but Padme picked up on it.

"C'mon! Let's get you ready to race!" I said.

"Yes sir!" saluted Anakin.


	6. Episode V: A Race for the Ages

**Episode V: A Race for the Ages **

The roar of the crowd, the beat of the suns, the ecstatic atmosphere and the chattering of the commentators. I loved every second of it. I only wished that it was me who was competing as I helped push Anakin's podracer out onto the track.

"And a big turnout here from all corners of the Outer Rim territories. I see the contestants are making their way out onto the starting grid. I see Ben Quadinaros from the Tund System." After a moment of more talking, the commentators called out Sebulba's name, which made the crowd roar with cheers. Clearly he was the crowd favourite. The Dug in particular was lapping up the attention.

"I wish I could flatten him myself in this race, but you'll just have to kick his ass for me," I said, loud enough to reach Anakin over the crowd. He grinned at me.

The commentators continued to announce names while we pushed the pod into Anakin's starting position. We reached the designated spot and immediately began to connect everything up. Everything was already prepped and tested for the race so only a few small things needed to be tweaked.

"And as a late entry, Anakin Skywalker, a local boy!" called out the commentator and Ani waved to the crowd, who responded back in the form of polite cheers. It seemed the crowd knew him from past races but also knew his track record for never finishing a race. As such, they didn't have much confidents in him to do anything but overtake some of the lower tier racers.

At that moment the flags moved out onto the track. This was where reps of each racer walked out holding a large flag with the racer's mark on it. Mostly it was simply colours in varying designs but a few actually had their own emblem emblazed on their flags. The flag I had when I raced 5 years ago was black with a golden nine-tailed fox on it. Anakin's opted for something different; a blue cross like icon on a white background with a yellow rune in the corner. C-3PO was the rep for Anakin.

"You be careful, ok?" reminded Shmi to her son.

"I will mom. I promise," Anakin replied in a serious tone, despite the excitement I just knew was bubbling inside him.

At that moment, someone short pushed past me. I looked around to see that it was Sebulba. He walked up to the kid and I positioned myself behind him, my hand resting on Oathkeeper in case there was trouble.

"You won't walk away from this one," the Dug spoke to Anakin in Huttese. "you slave scum."

"Don't count on it, slime ball," retorted Anakin.

"You're bantha fodder!" countered Sebulba. He was about to walk away when I stepped in his path.

"I've met a lot of shitty people in my life," I said in perfect Huttese. "But no-one has sucked more ass than you."

Sebulba growled angrily at me.

"What? Are you going to attack me? You might want to revise that course of action before you end up never able to walk, never mind race," I said evenly and pushed back my coat to flash him my LightDefender. Sebulba just growled again before walking away. I turned back to Anakin and grinned. "All set?" I asked.

"Yep!" was the reply I got. I then hefted him up and placed him in the cockpit. "Remember, keep your mind on the moment, don't worry about anything else. And whatever you do, don't relax if you get out in front. You're more likely to make mistakes if you do."

"Yes sir!" he saluted me, grinning.

"Choose what you feel is right and you'll do fine." I then grinned back. "May the uber awesome energy of the universe be with you," I finished before passing him his helmet and walking over to our personal box which families and personal fans of each racer was granted.

As I made my way over, the announcers said something, but I couldn't catch it. But the sudden cheering made me look around till I spotted the cause. Jaba the Hutt had just made his appearance to start the race.

"Welcome!" his voice boomed in Huttese around the arena. "Let the race begin!"

I then heard the sound of power couplings connecting up behind me. I quickened my pace until I reached our box which held Qui-Gon, Padme, Shmi, JarJar, C-3PO, Artoo and Kitster, Anakin's friend.

"Is he nervous?" asked Shmi as I boarded the box.

I grinned. "He's anything but that. And if I read him correctly, he's more excited that an Initiate getting his first training lightsaber. And they get pretty excited, believe me."

Shmi looked at Jinn, who was smiling as well, before she also smiled softly.

"You Jedi are far too reckless," Padme said forcefully. I turned around and urged myself not to sigh. "The queen is not-"

"Calm down Padme! Geez. I've told you already why this is happening. This is the fastest way out of three ways to get to Coruscant. The second is to bet on today's races, but that could all go to hell if you pick the wrong one, and then you would lose all your money. The third way is to do some odd jobs around the area but who knows how long it would've taken to hustle up 465 Duggart, which is a lot of money." I then looked her in the eye. "Do you want to waste time doing these things while your people are in trouble? Or do you want to get the Queen to Coruscant as quickly as possible?"

There was a long pause before she muttered, "Choice two."

I then clasp my hands on her shoulder. "Trust me Padme. Believe me when I say that this will work out in our favour. Please." She hesitated but then she nodded.

"Thank you," I replied before I reached over and pressed the button to raise the box up to the top of the tower the box was on.

"Gentlemen, start your engines!" the announcer called out before the deafening roar of the podracer's engines came to life. I began to get excited myself, not for the first time wishing I was down there racing in my podracer. I watched as all the participants flicked switches and pressed buttons as they geared up their speed machines. Looking at the screen in front of Shmi, I saw Anakin doing the same.

There were several small flying droids with cameras trained on each of the racers. Each private box had a view of their racers pod, time and ranking. These droids were capable of flying at the same speeds as the podracers themselves, and each one was programmed to have a certain distance from the pod their cameras were trained on. This made sure the view was always the same so no action was missed. You could also change the angle of the cameras to different settings, or have it cycle through the available angles. This is what I chose.

"Oh, dissen gonna be messy. Me no watch'n!" whined JarJar.

"Stop being such a baby JarJar," I replied.

Loud revs and high pitched whistling was now racing around the stadium. Then, the green light for the first lap to begin lighted up. There was no movement for a millisecond before the racers lurched forward quickly and sped through the Mos Espa Grand Arena.

All but two.

And one was Anakin.

"What the fuck?" I expressed out loud before I zoomed in with the droid camera on the screen. The racer had started to go for a second before the life just spluttered out. From the screen, I saw what was happening.

"Seems like power isn't flowing into the engines," I muttered.

"Wait! Little Skywalker has stalled," the announcer announced. A large amount of laughing went up from the crowd. At that moment I would've liked nothing more than to make that two headed announcer eat his microphone.

"Well. It looks like Quadinaros is having engine trouble as well."

I looked briefly at the other staller and saw he had _four_ engines. 'What's up with that?' I wondered in my thoughts before I returned my attention to the screen and Anakin.

But it seemed that whatever problem Ani had with his engines was gone. He revved hard once before he took off.

"Now that goes to show that you don't need a large engine to go fast," I commented while smiling.

"And there goes Skywalker! He'll be hard pressed to catch up with the group at front," said the announcer.

The Mos Espa course blazed out of the arena onto the Starlite Flats, an easy stretch of desert where aggressive Podracers jockeyed for strong starting positions. Since Anakin was in the back with the less experienced, or skilled, racers, it was one easy and clean overtake after another until he was in between the fastest racer in the slow pack and the slowest in the more skilled group. This is where it would get more serious.

The racers had to line up in single file to enter the curving canyon that cuts through the second stage of the circuit, the Waldo Flats. By the time Anakin had entered this area, Sebulba and the other four racers were out and heading into the Mushroom Mesa, a rocky expanse dominated by immense bulbous rock formations.

However he was quickly gaining on the front leaders as they dropped into Arch Canyon, raced through the Whip, blazed across Jag Crag Gorge and entered Laguna Cave, a perilous section of the circuit where the racer had to navigate through the subterranean cave. A sudden notice appeared over the screen indicating that one of the racers had just died inside the caves. His name on the ranking changed from yellow to red and plummeted to last place alongside another racer who had died earlier in the race.

Then the camera showed Anakin shooting out of the caves and into Canyon Dune Turn, a wide smooth turn, easy enough, if not for the occasional Tusken Raider group that camp up there and shoot at the racers. And it seemed today that was the case as they took potshots at the racers, one connecting with Anakin's pod, but did nothing but make a few sparks. He was still in the game.

Podracers that survived potshots from the Sand People then had to dodge the rocky obstacles in Bindy Bend before entering the last stretch of canyon, which included the Coil, Jett's Chute, and the Corkscrew. Exiting the Corkscrew via the Devil's Doorknob, the pilots emerged onto the Hutt Flats, a broad featureless expanse that led back to the arena. Sebulba was well into Hutt Flats when Anakin started the Coil. He was still way behind.

At that point a flicker of movement caught my eye, just in time to see Mr. Four Engines' pod engines disconnect from each other and fly away in different directions.

"Whoa! There goes that one. At least he's still alive," I commented as Sebulba and the four other racers hot on his tail screamed past. This counted onto the second lap. I watched as one driver pulled in his ride for some repairs. What he got, was a busted engine when one of his pit droids walked too close to the front of the engines and was pulled in. Amazingly, the droid was fine as he emerged from the other side, smoky and a little disoriented, but still good.

There was silence over the arena as we waited for Anakin and the second half of the remaining racers to speed through the arena. We didn't have to wait long as he raced through, still going strong.

"It looks like Skywalker is moving up the field," the announcer reported.

Anakin blasted through Mushroom Mesa, gaining on the racer in front. He initially had trouble trying to overtake him as the racer in front was blocking his advances, but eventually Anakin flew over him when they dropped over Metta Drop and into Ebe Crater Valley. Then one of the racers behind him accelerated to race Anakin side by side. He then began to bash into the kid, trying to force him off the track and into a rock pillar. However in a very impressive move, Anakin anticipated his next ram and flipped over him to land on the opposite side before he accelerated to the next racer in front.

"Man Shmi, your son is a natural!" I whooped, grinning widely.

Anakin was now in third place. Which soon changed as one of the engines belonging to the racer behind Sebulba, exploded. I suspected that Sebulba had just thrown in a bit of spare part into the engine. Anakin had to swerve downward to avoid getting taken out by the disintegrating racer.

He didn't get away unscathed though as his right engine was disconnected from his pod. The only way the engine stayed where it was, was because it was still connected to the left engine. But it wouldn't remain like that for long. Anakin's pod began to barrel roll dangerously.

"C'mon kiddo! Focus!" I muttered.

And focus Anakin did. After flipping a stabilizer switch, the pod righted itself and Anakin began making in-race repairs. The energy binder began to flicker as it started to lose power. His speed was decreased and a few racers from behind got in front of him once again. But Anakin, not giving up, pulled out a magnetized grasper and reached out for the flailing end of the connecter. He soon grasped it, secured it, and was back in the race, though he had dropped back a few spots.

At this point he has just entered Beggar's Canyon. He quickly regained fourth position and entered Arch Canyon while Sebulba entered Laguna Cave. However it wasn't long before Anakin also entered the caves, with several racers right behind him.

One of the racers was hit by a bullet from a Tusken Raider, sending the guy grinding across the Canyon Dune Turn.

"I don't care what universe you're from. That's gotta hurt!" said the announcer.

"Indeed," I agreed.

Now in second place, and on the last lap, Anakin began to pull up close behind Sebulba as they came racing through the stadium, with the announcer announcing that Sebulba was in the lead, followed by Skywalker.

"GO KIDDO!" I yelled out.

Up until the two entered Beggar's Canyon, Anakin was behind Sebulba. But he pulled up beside the Dug, however Sebulba wasn't going to let him go by cleanly. He rammed the kid hard, forcing him up onto a service ramp. The kid blasted through the gate, up the ramp and was shot high into the air. But Anakin kept his focus, and as he tipped forward and fell back to the ground, he braked hard. He waited until his engines realigned horizontally, passed over Sebulba and floored the accelerator, taking the lead.

"HOT DAMN! That kid can fly!" I yelled, in complete awe of the boy. He wasn't a natural, he was a protégée at flying. The kid was as good as me, and I had 20 years of flying skills behind me.

Apparently Sebulba was shocked at this turn of events as well as he made no move to catch up for several seconds. By this time they were just coming up on the Arch Canyon. Then something caught my eye on the screen. Sparks. I zoomed in with the others looking between me and the screen, wondering what I was looking for. And then I saw it. My spare Power Unit that I had given to Anakin to boost power in his engine. It was broken off and was hanging by only a few wires.

"Shit! If that power cell falls off-" I was interrupted as the cell disconnected from the engine. Instantly fire broke out of the left engine. Sebulba swerved out of the smoke and took the lead. Anakin just pulled a lever that closed off the engine and stopped the smoking. The left engine was now out of power. Anakin transferred half of what was left inside his right engine to the left and tried to reignite it. After a few unsuccessful tries the engine fired up once again and Anakin was back in the race. But now he would really have to focus and push it if he wanted to recover the lost time between him and Sebulba.

But it looked like the force was on his side today as he caught up with the Dug just as they entered Arch Canyon. Into Laguna Cave. Out of it. Across Canyon Dune Turn. Threading the Devil's Doorknob and onto the final stretch, the Hutt Plains.

This was where things got a little screwy. They were neck and neck. Sebulba slammed his massive engines into Anakin's own. Twice! But on the third strike, something must've caught between them, because now Anakin and Sebulba were stuck.

Sebulba tried to pull away, which he eventually did, but not without ripping something important from his side out of his engine, causing the energy binders to shut down. This resulted in Sebulba's engines to fall away and explode spectacularly, enabling Anakin to accelerate towards the finish line without any more interruptions.

As Anakin passed through the finish line and slowed down, the whole stadium cheered. Even if some of the people in the audience had lost a bet, they still cheered for a very impressive and entertaining race.

I raced over to where Ani had parked and whooped for joy as the kid's face appeared, covered in girt and grime, but blazing with a wide smile.

"BOOYAA! ANAKIN WON!" I yelled out.

"Yay! I won! Woo hoo!" replied Anakin as everyone gathered around him.

* * *

Twenty minutes later I was meeting up with Anakin and the others. I had quickly left to claim my winnings and remember Watto of his bet, as well as buy Shmi from him. He almost backed out from it, but a friendly reminder that I could easily go over to the Hutts and get them to straighten the matter out, he folded. He then gave me Anakin and Shmi's transponder tracker and I gave him 2000 durggat, promising him that I would be back at his junk shop to pick up the parts and give him the rest of the winnings.

"Hey kiddo!" I greeted as I walked up to the group.

"Hey Josh!" Anakin replied, his eyes still shining from the excitement he experienced while racing not half an hour ago.

"I've got a present for you," I grinned as I tossed him the transponder tracker. He caught it and looked it over before his eyes widened.

"This is..."

"Yep."

"So we're...?"

"Yep."

I was then tackled to the ground by a dirty blond haired crying kid. "Heey, it's ok! It's alright." I said while patting him on the head.

"What's going on?" asked Shmi as she had seen Anakin knock me to the ground.

"Well apparently he's taking the news that the two of you are now free a bit hard," I replied mildly.

"Oh my!" gasped the woman.

"And also," I added as I pushed Anakin's face away so he could see me. "I extend an invitation to the two of you. I really want to have Anakin as my Jedi apprentice as he has great untapped potential with the Force. But I will not split apart mother and son. So I would like to ask you, Shmi, if you would like to stay at my estate in Aldera on Alderaan."

"I... I..." stuttered Shmi breathlessly.

"Should I take that as a yes?" I smiled. She simply nodded. My smile widened. "Great! I'll count on you to keep the place clean and tidy." She nodded again, her smile shedding years of her face.

"I'm gonna learn how to be a Jedi?" asked Anakin in awe.

"That's right kiddo!" I said as I placed my hand on his shoulder. "I want you to be my apprentice, if you'll have me?"

His answer was to wrap me up in a big hug. "I'm guessing this is a yes?" I asked, knowing already what the answer was going to be.

"Yes!" he replied.

"All right!" I said before I disentangled myself from him. "We can also take your Podracer as long as we disconnect it up a bit so it will fit inside the ship."

"Awesome!" was his reply.

"Well, shall we get going? I've got some spare change so we can get ourselves a nice meal," I announced with whoops of joy coming from Anakin.

* * *

(AN: Reviews up people! Let me know if you like!)


	7. Episode VI: Close Encounter of the Sith

**Episode VI: Close Encounter of the Sith Kind**

"So, you got everything?" I asked as I ducked my head inside Anakin's room. The ship was fixed and ready to go. All that was left to do was to pick up Shmi and Anakin. The kid stood in the middle of a now empty room. I noticed that he was unusually quiet. I walked up to him and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"You ok Kiddo?"

He looked up at me. "Yeah Josh sir. Just a little sad," he replied.

"About leaving?" I asked. He nodded mutely.

"That's normal. You made friends here. Naturally you'll miss them." Here I knelt down to his eye level. "But as long as you don't forget them, then they'll continue to live on inside of you."

"Inside?"

"That's right. In your memories. I left for the Jedi Order when I was your age too. I had made many friends on Alderaan so I was sad to learn that I would probably never see them again. But you make new friends in life. Just don't forget where you come from." I stood up, ruffled the kid's hair a bit before gently guiding him out of the room.

In the lounge room area stood Jinn and Shmi. Ani's mom smiled at her son; the years seemed to melt off her face as she did so. She was a long way off from looking her age, but it was an improvement to see the fire of hope burning in her eyes.

Most of the things the Skywalker duo had were things they no longer needed. So they were sold quickly. All they had was Ani's podracer, C-3PO and a few small sentimental tokens, as well as the clothes on their backs. They were still wearing their slave clothes, which I promised to buy new clothes when we reached Coruscant. The podracer and Threepio were already stowed in the ship.

"You ready Ani?" asked Shmi.

"Yeah mom. I'm ready," he replied.

"Well then, let's get off this dustbowl!" I said enthusiastically.

* * *

"You seem different from Qui-Gon. Are there different types of Jedi?" Anakin asked as we walked across the sand toward the ship.

"You picked up on that, huh?" I asked. "Well, truth be told, I'm the oddball in the Jedi Order."

"Why?"

"Well becoming a Jedi requires the most profound commitment and astute mind, the life of a Jedi is one of sacrifice. To hinder transgression, those who show an aptitude for the Force are taken directly from birth (or soon afterward) to train in the Jedi Temple headquarters on Coruscant or at smaller Jedi Enclaves as Padawans. From the beginning of their training, a Jedi is expected to adhere to a strict Code that includes concepts such as rational thought, patience, and benevolence. Uncomfortable emotions such as hate, anger, and fear are labelled as destructive and lead to the dark side, so such things are banned from Jedi practice."

"The Code?"

"'There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.'" I recited. "That is the current Jedi Code. All Jedi stick to this code. *sigh* And therein lies the problem."

Anakin looked at Qui-Gon for explanation.

"He thinks that the Code needs to be rewritten as he does not believe this is correct. There are a few Jedi who believe as he does, but he is the only one active in his dislike about it," the senior Master explained.

"_One_ _time_ I said that I thought the code was stupid," I protested. "I allow myself to feel, but I usually try not to let them get out of hand. There is also a rule on attachments to others. That attachments eventually lead to the dark side. I think that's a load of Hooha. I defend the weak, but I seek attachments. I seek power, but only to help people. I love to fight, but not to kill. I'm more like a dark Jedi. Or a Light Sith," I said.

"I wouldn't go so far as to call you a Sith, Josh," reproached Jinn.

"Ok then. Dark Jedi it is then!" I called out triumphantly like a kid. Qui-Gon simply shook his head in amusement at me.

"What's a Sith?" Anakin asked.

"The opposite of a Jedi, Anakin," replied Qui-Gon. "The Sith believe that conflict is the only true test of one's ability, and so emphasize its importance. It is their belief that conflict challenges both individuals and civilizations, and so force them to grow and evolve. They believe that the avoidance of conflict – like the pacifist teachings of the Jedi – resultes in stagnation and decline.

Another purpose served by conflict is the elevation of the strong and the death of the weak. By encouraging strife, the strong are able to exercise their power while the weak are weeded from the ranks of the Sith. A core tenet to Sith philosophy is self-reliance and the idea that an individual only deserves what they are strong enough to take. Likewise, morality is treated as an obstacle to be overcome, as it got in the way of a Sith's ability to recognize and seize opportunities for advancement and self-empowerment."

"I don't like the sound of that," Anakin murmured.

"Neither do I, but parts of my personality are considered Sith like. But at the end of the day, I choose to protect instead of destroy. I think that is the most important choice for me," I replied.

"Me too. I'd like to become a Jedi like you Josh sir," Anakin beamed at me.

"Loose the sir, Kiddo. Makes me feel old and respectable, which I am clearly neither yet. But I'm glad. I think you would be a great Dark Jedi... that's really an uncomfortable title. There has to be a better way to word it-" My eyes widened as the blast of darkness flooded my awareness. I turned to see-

"Anakin! Shmi! Get down!" I yelled.

They did and a second later a speeder raced over their heads. I pulled out Oathkeeper as the speeder swerved around and came back at us. Riding the speeder was a humanoid in a black cloak, radiating the same dark intentions that Jinn, Kenobi and I felt when we first landed outside Mos Espa.

"Anakin! Shmi! Jinn! Run to the ship and tell them to take off!" I ordered as I activated my LightDefender, just as the assaulter jumped off the speeder and activated his lightsaber. A red one.

We immediately began to dual, but it was quite one sided. His fury was indeed great, but his lightsaber work was about Qui-Gon's level, quite below my own. The assailant jumped into the air and brought his lightsaber above his head and then did a vertical downward slash as he came down on top of me.

I reacted easily by rolling sideways to avoid the attack, where his lightsaber hit the ground and cause a large dust cloud to jump up.

As soon as his attack missed I quickly spun around and extended my sword out to slash at his unprotected side but he back flipped to avoid the sword strike.

As soon as he landed back on the ground he charged head on at me with another powerful sword slash, which I quickly blocked with Oathkeeper, upon which a power struggle emanated between us, where I quickly overpowered him, throwing the attacker back. His hood flew back, revealing the attacker to be a Dathomiri Zabrak. I could tell he was Dathomiri from the tattoos on his face. From the fact that he was a Zabrak, I guessed he was from the Nightbrothers clan. And finally, I deducted that he was Sith from the red lightsaber at his side. Oh, and the intense killing intent reverberating from him through the Force.

"Ho ho! A Sith, eh? Very interesting," I said, grinning. The Sith just lunged in with a two handed horizontal swipe.

I flipped backwards to avoid the powerful slash. Upon landing back on the ground and not wanting to give the Zabrak another chance to attack me, I pushed myself forward towards him and raised my sword up for a powerful strike at the Sith. Who upon seeing me coming at him raised his sword up and blocked the strike. I continued to put the pressure on when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Naboo ship soar towards us with the ramp open, and Jinn standing there.

So I suddenly released my pressure and stepped quickly back. The Sith stumbled forward, off balance, and I kicked him hard in the stomach. The Nightbrother flew backwards as I Force jumped and caught Qui-Gon's arm. I clambered onto the ramp as it rose back into the ship.

"Whoo! That was a nice change of pace," I said to no-one in particular.

"Who was that Josh?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Zabrak. Nightbrother. Sith," I replied simply.

"Sith?" asked a shocked Obi-Wan as he and Anakin approached me.

"There's no way that he was a fallen Jedi. He's Sith alright. Judging from his skills he's either an under skilled Master, or a gifted apprentice. I think it's the latter," I theorized.

"But... Sith?" Kenobi repeated. "I thought they were destroyed at the end of the New Sith Wars a thousand years ago."

"Apparently not," I said. "The Council will want to know about this, but they'll probably piss their pants when they hear that the Sith are back. I can't wait to see the look on their faces."

* * *

After introductions were made, Anakin, Shmi and I settled in the middle of the ship. Artoo was in the corner doing whatever droids did in their spare time and JarJar was snoozing in a chair with his feet propped up on the table that we were sitting around, muttering slightly in his sleep.

"It's so cold..." muttered Anakin.

"It is a bit chilly," agreed Shmi.

"Well you have lived your whole lives so far on a desert planet with two freaking suns. Since this is a Naboo ship, the climate inside is temperate to Naboo's usual weather. I imagine it would be cold for you two," I replied as I stood up. "I'll see if there's a few blankets around." I didn't get very far before the lift door opened and Padme walked into the room.

"Hi Padme," I greeted. "You know where the thermal blankets are stored?"

"There's some in that storage unit over there," she pointed to the corner in question. As I retrieved the blankets, the handmaiden walked over to a terminal and activated the ships communication logs.

_"The death toll is catastrophic. We must bow to their wishes. You must contact me!"_ the councilman pleaded. My eyes narrowed as I studied Padme. The sheer worry in her eyes was more than a simple handmaiden should feel about the communiqué. She was completely focused on the holographic display. It then clicked in my head.

"Huh," I said, making her jump slightly and turned to face me.

"Yes, Master Jedi?" she asked. I just grinned knowingly and walked up to her. "Oh nothing... your Highness." My grin stretched wide as I saw the look of horror on Padme's face as the truth became clear.

"Aha! I was right!" I crowed in delight.

"How did you guess?" she asked.

"I acknowledge that I can be a little dense sometimes, but I'm not a Jedi for nothing. It wasn't any one big thing. Just a lot of little things that all added up. I doubt Obi-Wan has noticed, but Qui-Gon probably has," I explained as I handed a large thermal blanket to Shmi, who in turn wrapped it around herself and a shell-shocked Anakin.

Padme sat down next to Anakin. "I thought I could keep the secret up until it was necessary to expose myself. I guess trying to pull the wool over a Jedi's eyes is futile after all." She looked up at me. "You understand why such a thing is needed."

"Of course I do. I apologise for any rude comments I said in your presence while on Tatooine. Had I known who you were, I would of been more respectful," I said.

"No, it's ok. If anything it was... refreshing, for you to be so... yourself around me," the newly revealed Queen of Naboo said.

"I guess you get a lot of the opposite from people who know your true identity?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

Padme nodded.

"You feeling better you two?" I asked our new passengers.

"Yes. Much better," Shmi replied.

"Thanks Josh," added Anakin.

"Good to hear. It won't be long before we get to Coruscant. Then I'll take you both shopping for new clothes and such," I offered.

"Thank you very much," Shmi thanked.

"By the way Shmi. I think you should change your name before settling in at my place on Alderaan. Not only to have a new identity, but it'll help you get past your life as a slave. That is, if you want to," I suggested.

Shmi nodded. "I understand. Besides, I never liked the name my drunken father gave me. I would of changed it myself but I didn't have the money to do so."

There was a moment of silence before Anakin spoke up to Padme.

"You seem sad," he said.

"The queen... I mean... I'm worried. About my people. They're suffering, dying. I must convince the senate to intervene, or... I'm not sure what'll happen," she said sadly.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a sort of half hug. "Don't worry. Everything will work out. Just have faith, Padmé," I said.

She leaned on my arm for a moment. "Thank you," she murmured.

* * *

Ani and I looked out of the cockpit window to see Coruscant soar into view. It really was a sight to behold. The entire surface was covered by one dominant city, the Galactic City. As we approached the planet from the dark side, the patchwork of lights was simply beyond belief at times.

"Finally! So good being back!" I said. I looked at Ani to see his face in total awe of what he saw in front of him.

"This is Coruscant; Queen of the Core and the centre of the Republic," I introduced. "Throughout most of the Galactic history, Coruscant has been the most politically important world in the galaxy. The hyperspace coordinates are triple zero, making it the centre of the galaxy all but literally."

"Wizard...!" murmured Anakin.

"A large number of the galaxy's trade routes - including the Perlemian Trade Route, the Corellian Run, the Metellos Trade Route, the Koros Trunk Line, and the Leisure Corridor - go through Coruscant, making it one of the richest worlds in the galaxy," I continued. "Roughly three trillion souls live here at any given time. Coruscant was once mostly a water world. However, all natural bodies of water were drained and stored in vast caverns beneath the city as a result of years of overpopulation. The only body of water visible is the artificial Western Sea, with many artificially-created islands floating on it, used by tourists on holidays. No oceans here."

"Ocean?" Anakin asked. "What's an ocean?"

I blinked before I chuckled. "I forgot you came from Tatooine, a desert planet. Let me put it this way. You know the Dune Sea? You know how big it is right?"

"Yeah, of course. It's huge!"

"Well imagine all that sand turned to water. That's an ocean," I said.

Anakin screwed up his eyes, trying to imagine such a mind boggling thing. After several moments he opened his eyes. "I can't imagine such a thing," he replied.

I laughed. "Not to worry. I'll take you to see an ocean one day," I promised.

"Really? Yay!" cheered the small kid.

By now the ship had punched through the atmosphere and was gliding down to a private landing platform hovering in the air. Anakin had since reglued his eyes to the window.

"Look over there," said the pilot. "Senator Palpatine is waiting for us along with Chancellor Valorum."

The ship touched down easily and we all filed out. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and myself lead the way with Anakin, Shmi and JarJar behind us. The Capitan of the Guard followed with the Queen, or at least the decoy, next.

Jinn, Kenobi, Anakin and I bowed to the Chancellor and Senator, with Binks a second later. The decoy Queen walked around us and greeted the two members of the Senate.

"It is a great gift to see you alive, Your Majesty," said Palpatine as Anakin came to stand in front of me. I placed my hands on his shoulders and he looked up at me, nervous. I smiled down at him. He stole a look at Padme, who returned the look with a smile.

"With the communications breakdown, we've been very concerned. I'm anxious to hear your report on the situation. May I present Supreme Chancellor Valorum," Palpatine finished up.

"Welcome, Your Highness. It's an honour to finally meet you in person," greeted the Supreme Chancellor. He was a man of short, grey hair and stiff clothes, but looked to be a fair and reasonable person.

Senator Palpatine also had silver hair, but at a longer length. He wore dark greed robes and had a kind smile on his face. But something about the man put me off, made me feel uncomfortable. I dismissed it, thinking I was being stupid.

"Thank you Supreme Chancellor," replied the decoy Queen. We then began to walk toward the aircab.

"I must relay to you how distressed everyone is over the current situation. I've called for a special session of the senate to hear your position," said Valorum.

"I'm grateful for your concern, Chancellor," thanked the decoy Queen. Valorum nodded and fell behind.

"There is a question of procedure," said Palpatine. "but I'm confident we can overcome it."

As the Queen, Senator, JarJar and the Queen's handmaidens headed for the aircab, I turned to Valorum. "We need to speak to the Jedi Council immediately. The situation has become a lot more screwed up." I then pointed to Anakin and Shmi. "These two are coming with us."

* * *

Outside the Jedi Council chambers I stopped for a moment and turned to Anakin and Shmi. "I won't be long you two. I just need to go talk to the Council. Then afterwards we can go shopping and pick up some lunch, ok?" They nodded.

There was a light ping noise to let Jinn, Kenobi and I know that the Council was ready for us. I grinned and opened the doors that led to the chambers.

"Hey ya'll! What's up? What's going on? What's happnin'?" I called loudly as I strolled into the centre of the circle of thirteen Jedi Council Masters. "Wow! Full house today, huh?" I questioned as everyone on the Council was here.

"You will begin by giving your report on your activities since we last spoke," said Mace in that 'pole up his ass' tone.

"Hello to you too, I'm well, thanks for asking," I replied sarcastically.

Mace sighed. "The report please?"

"Fine! What crawled up your ass and died?" I mumbled in a not-soft-enough voice that Windu picked up on. His eyebrow twitched, but that was all the reaction I got out of him. But that alone was a major victory.

"Well we made contact with the Trade Fed blockade around Naboo, but before we could meet face to face, they tried to gas us before slicking battle droids on us. We managed to get outta there and made our way to the bridge, but we were cut off. We were forced to escape down to the lower levels and saw that the Trade Fed was planning to assault Naboo on the ground with thousands of battle droids getting ready to be transported planetside. We stole away on different transports and met up on the surface. I rescued a Gungan called JarJar Binks, who in turn guided us to the underwater city of Ota Gunga. There we were able to get a ride from there to Theed. We made contact with the Queen and were able to convince her to leave Naboo to plead her case to the Senate. In the process of busting past the blockade the hyperdrive was damaged and so forced us to land on Tatooine to make repairs. However we lacked the funds to replace the hyperdrive. Republic credits don't count, Adi," I said as Master Ki-Adi-Mundi opened his mouth. He closed it almost straight away.

"But thanks to a local slave boy named Anakin, winning the Boonta Eve Classic podrace, we were able to acquire the funds to buy a replacement hyperdrive, and also free Anakin and his mother. They're outside waiting for me. And now comes the big revelation for today." I paused for effect before continuing.

"As we were leaving Tatooine, a lone Zabrak attacked us wielding a red lightsaber and leaking hatred in the Force, leading me to believe that this was no Fallen Jedi, but a Sith. His skills suggest he was at a gifted apprentice level." I looked around. There were stunned faces all around.

"Impossible. The Sith have been extinct for a thousand years. Ever since the end of the New Sith Wars," replied Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"I do not believe the Sith could have returned without us knowing," agreed Mace.

"Oh come on! You guys said that three and a half thousand years ago. And what happened? You got your collective asses kicked. By Sith!" I said. "But I'm guessing that you're thinking about a similar onslaught of Sith like last time. I think it's the work of just two Sith. Master and Apprentice. Small enough to slip under our Force radars."

"Hard to see, the dark side is," Yoda said and I was forced to stop myself face palming. I always found Yoda's riddle speech to be highly annoying.

"Well, whatever. Believe me or not. Just don't come crawling back to me after getting your asses whopped," I said lazily. "By the way, I wish to take Anakin as my apprentice."

"Excuse me?" asked Master Windu.

"Well, it's just that he's got a whopping 20,000 on the midi-chlorian scale. And since I do too, I think he would be the perfect Padawan for me," I said. "Plus I am led to believe he was conceived by the midi-chlorians. And that's pretty cool!"

"You refer to the prophecy of the one that will bring balance to the force," Mace noted.

"...Sure, why not?" I replied flatly, not really caring about the stupid prophecy.

"You believe it's this boy and not you?" Mace continued to ask.

"I dunno," I shrugged. "But better safe than sorry. He's a good kid. And I have faith that he will become a great Jedi. But more like me than you guys. No offence," I grinned. "At least test the kid. What's the harm in that?"

Mace sighed. "Bring him before us, then."

"Right on Mace old boy!" I grinned. "He's just outside at the moment with his mom, but I'm going to get him cleaned up first. I'll bring him back at 5 tonight. Ciao!" I then turned and left with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

* * *

(AN: Reviews up please. Let me know what you think of this chapter, and whether you laughed. If you didn't, then you have zero sense of humour and need to be educated in the ways of the funnies. Next chapter will be **Episode VII: Outing Day. **Stick around.)


	8. Episode VII: Outing Day

**Episode VII: Outing Day**

"Ok you two! Let's go get you some new clothes for you to wear and then we'll grab some food at Dex's Diner, the best place to eat on Coruscant," I called cheerfully out to Anakin and his mom as soon as I was out of the Council chambers with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon flanking me. I turned to them. "You want to join us?" I asked.

"Sorry, but I have some business to take care of first," Qui-Gon replied, looking sorry at the fact that he was going to miss out on a greasy but delicious meal. He looked at Kenobi, whose eyes were slightly unfocused, as if he was thinking about something.

"You go with them Obi-Wan," Jinn smiled as he clapped his hand on the padawan's shoulder. He looked up at his master.

"Are you sure, Master?" he asked.

"Of course. I know you've been waiting to have another lunch at Dex's place," Jinn said.

"Come on Kenny!" I said as I grabbed the teenager's arm and began to pull him towards the elevator with Anakin and his mom behind me.

* * *

As soon as we exited the elevator, I spotted a familiar female Twi'lik walking towards the transportation platform. My eyes lit up. "Hey! Aayla!" I called, waving wildly at the Jedi Knight. She turned around, and as soon as she saw me she sighed. I laughed softly before running over to her.

"Hey there beautiful," I said in a deep and mature sounding voice. "What say you and I go for a romantic dinner date tonight at the Milky Way restaurant?"

"Josh… you know where my feelings lie so can you stop flirting with me?" Aayla Secura asked in an exasperated tone.

I stopped acting mature and pouted like a little kid. "You two haven't gotten together yet, so I can flirt with you all I want."

The blue Twi'lik shook her head but she had an amused smile on her face. "You'll never change," she said.

"Well if I did, the council would put up posters saying, 'Warning! Master Kitsune's personality has changed! We advise all members of the Jedi Order to stay clear of him until we assess the situation and determine whether he's safe or not. Thank you.'" I replied with a smile. I was rewarded with a short laugh from her.

"Well, if not dinner, then maybe lunch. We were going to get these two some better clothes to wear before grabbing a meal at Dex's Diner. Wanna join us?" I asked.

"Hmmm… why not, if you are paying," she added slyly.

"Ouch," I replied in mock pain as I placed my hand over my heart. "That hurts, ya know?"

"Well you are the richest Jedi at present," she replied, her hands placed on her hips.

"That's got nothing to do with it!" I retorted childishly.

"Master!" called a voice that was slightly familiar to me. We all turned to see a young human woman of about 20 years old, running over toward us. She had long crimson hair that reached to her waist and crimson eyes. The clothes she wore were a more customized version of the usual Jedi robes. The robes were more tight fitting, showing off her well-endowed curves. The tight pants and top were cream coloured with a white coat over the top. It was certainly more nicer than any other Jedi's wardrobe.

Unlike other members of the Order, her robes looked to be of a more higher quality. The quality of a Jedi's clothes are usually quite rough, causing discomfort as a way to sharpen our focus, and to show off the fact that we were devoted to service and projected our attachment-free philosophy. I had discarded that idea as soon as I was able too when I became a Knight, and instantly went out to buy my black pants, sleeveless muscle shirt and my customised black coat with the fancy lightning bolt lining the bottom. It looked like this woman had also decided to go with being comfortable and flashy. She was a head shorter than me and at her side were two silver polished lightsabers.

Oh, and she was hawt dayum!

"Ah, Dawn," Aayla greeted the newcomer as she came to a stop in front of her. "I was just coming to see you. Did you just finish your first solo mission?"

"Yes, Master," she replied before looking at all of us. "Am I interrupting?"

"Not at all. I don't think I've properly introduced you to Josh, have I?" Aayla said before gesturing at me. "This is Master Josh Kitsuné. He's just finished with his mission to Naboo," she introduced.

"You heard about that, huh?" I said before sticking out my hand to the crimson haired female human. "Josh Kitsuné, at your service," I said.

"Master Kitsuné," she replied, bowing her head at me respectfully and shaking my hand. "My name is Dawn Kyuubi. I just recently finished my first solo mission since becoming a Jedi Knight."

"Ah, good for you. I remember my first solo mission. Ahh, fun times…" I sighed with a dreamy smile on my face. I was brought out of it when Aayla coughed loudly.

"Opps, my bad. So Dawn, we were just gonna go out shopping for these two to get some clothes. Maybe you could come along and give us some tips?" I asked.

At that moment, a voice over the intercom sounded out. _"Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, please report to the council chambers. I repeat… Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, please report to the council chambers."_

"Oh, looks like the old grumpys want to see you," I grinned widely. I saw Dawn blink a few times, probably wondering about how disrespectful I sounded.

Aayla sighed. "And I was looking forward to getting you to treat me," she said.

"Well, I'm just glad you don't eat like Vos. I swear the guy's got a mini black hole inside his stomach," I muttered loudly. She laughed again before she smiled at all of us. "I guess I'll see you later," she replied before walking for the lifts.

There was silence for a few moments as I observed Aayla's ass disappear into the lift before I turned to Dawn. "So ya wanna join us or what?"

* * *

Clothes shopping for the two ex-slaves was an interesting experience for me. When Dawn asked me to set a budget, I simply said that the clothes should be simple, but good quality for Anakin. As for Shmi, who had yet to think of a new first name, she could choose what she was comfortable with.

And so, after two hours of sitting outside the dresser rooms and looking at each set the two put on, they finally settled on something they both liked. Anakin wore a pair of sapphire blue loose pants tied with a black sash, a black t-shirt with a cream white open jacket with cobalt blue edges. On his feet he wore durable brown leather boots.

Shmi, on the other hand, went for a more colourful outfit. She wore a cerulean pair of loose pants, camisole and a big sleeved shirt that reached to her knees. The shirt at the bottom had a multi blue and green ring-like pattern. It looked very good. (See Padme's clothes when Anakin comes back with his dead mother in the movie.)

"Nice choices you two!" I approved.

"Thanks. It was Dawn who actually picked them out for us," Shmi replied.

"Really?" I asked as I directed my attention to the hot red head.

"Just because I'm a Jedi, doesn't mean I don't have any style," she replied hotly.

"Woah! Settle down. I ain't judging you. I've got a black leather trench coat with gold lightning bolts lining the bottom so I'm the last Jedi who'll say anything against a Jedi having stylish clothes," I protested with my hands up before turning around so she saw my back.

"Oh," she replied shortly as I turned back to face her. I saw she was lightly blushing. Probably from embarrassment. "Don't worry bout it. I guess you get a lot of Jedi jerks complaining about your style of attire?" I asked. She nodded silently.

"Well they're just up themselves… and probably jealous that you can get away with those clothes and they can't," I said. Before she looked surprised at the fact that I was actively dissing my fellow Jedi, but now a little curious was mixed in there as well.

"I know that look. We'll talk about it over lunch," I suggested before we moved to purchase the clothes.

* * *

(Cue song Honky Tonk Wan by Taku Iwasaki from Getbackers Original Soundtrack. Played over café radio)

"Oh hey there Josh. Back so soon?" a beautiful blonde young woman in a tight short light blue dress asked as we entered the diner.

"You know you can't keep me away for long Hermione," I grinned suggestively at her. "Can you give us a table and a couple of menu?" As I was chatting up the sexy young waitress, the others looked around. The diner was in a Med'soto style that was common during the golden age of the Republic.

"Your usual table is open at the moment. I'll be back with your menus," she smiled before walking off.

"C'mon. This way," I said as I led the way to a table in the corner marked No.9. Shmi and Anakin took one side while Dawn and I took the opposite side. Kenobi sat on the end.

Hermione came back with a few menus. "Start us off with a big serving of chips and I'll have my usual, thanks," I ordered.

"Can I get a Caramel Milkshake?" Kenobi asked.

"Sure thing, dear," Hermione acknowledged with a smile that had Obi-Wan blushing.

"Oh and see if you can get Dex out here for a moment," I added.

The female beauty walked over to where orders were delivered. "Can I get a large serving of chips, a Jerral coffee, a nerf steak sandwich and a Caramel Milkshake on table nine!" she rolled out our order. "And Josh's here to see ya, Dex! Table nine!"

"Huh? Josh?" a male voice asked before the head of a besalisk popped out and saw me waving at him. "Hey there!" he greeted as he walked over to where we were. I stood up and gave him a hug. "Hey Dex buddy!" I greeted.

"Back so soon?" he asked.

"Your food is just that good," I replied.

"You'd better believe it."

"Just wanted to introduce you to a few new friends," I said before I began pointing. "This is Shmi, Anakin and Dawn."

"Welcome to my diner, the best place for food in CoCo Town," he boasted his greeting. He then noticed the menus. "Found what you're orderin'?"

"Can I get a Slider?" Anakin asked.

"I'll have one too," Shmi agreed.

"I'll have one of those delicious looking pastries you had on display on the counter there," Dawn added her order.

"You got it," Dex replied before he walked back into the kitchen and got to cooking.

"He seems like a nice guy," Shmi observed.

"Dex is the best. He's been around, and because of that, his knowledge of the galaxy is extensive. He's a good source of info that one," I explained.

"Master Secura and I came here once, but I wasn't introduced to him," Dawn said.

"Well Aayla probably wanted to spend some time with you back then," I replied as Hermione came by with a large tray. She set down the chips, my steak sandwich and coffee and Kenobi's milkshake.

"Thanks Hermione babe," I thanked.

"Can I get one of these 'Special Choco Shakes'?" Anakin asked.

"Sure thing kid," she smiled as she ruffled his hair.

"Oh boy. Can you add a jug of water to that order?" I asked her. She winked in response before walking off.

"What's the water for?" Anakin asked.

"The Choco Shakes have so much sugar packed into them, that without a drink of water to dilute it all, you're going to be one hyperactive kid for the next 15 standard hours. A hyper kid is not the best impression one wants before the Council," I smiled knowingly. "With the 9 foot poles shoved up their asses, they won't be able to handle one hyperactive kid without snapping."

Anakin giggled at my 'pole up their assess' part, but Dawn looked at me even more curiously than before. "You are a strange Jedi, Master Kitsuné," she voiced her thoughts.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," I replied as I took a sip of my coffee. "Mmmm, good stuff!"

"So how did you and Dex meet?" Shmi asked.

"Well it was back when I was a padawan too. My master and I were out on a mission when we met him. Helped him out of a sticky situation. Since then, he's bought this diner off the previous owners and has made it his own. I caught wind of his new establishment soon after he bought it and I became one of his first customers, along with Qui-Gon Jinn and Aayla Secura." I took another sip of my coffee before continuing. "Many Jedi come to Dex for information. Anything he doesn't know off the top of his head, he'll find out overnight. He then tells the Jedi what he found. All he asks for payment is that we spread the news of his diner to others."

The rest of our order came by and talking died down as we dug into our meals. There was the occasional moan of joy as the new guys experienced Dex's food for the first or second time, but overall it was a silent period.

"Hey Josh buddy! How's Shiva doing these days?" Dex called, poking his head through the ordering hole in the wall.

I swallowed my mouthful of chips. "Shiv's cool. At least, she was the last time I saw her," I replied.

"I heard she got into a little tussle with a few high ranking members of the Black Suns," he asked worriedly.

"Oh those guys? Took care of that easily enough. They won't be bothering her anymore," I smiled knowingly.

"Good to know," was his reply before ducking back into the kitchen.

"Shiva?" Dawn asked.

"She's a twi'lek dancer I saved a few years back. She's currently working on becoming one of the best information brokers in the galaxy. I reckon she can do it too," I answered.

"She's a dancer?"

"That's right, though it's just her day job," I confirmed. "I usually go to her when I need to find out something. It's good experience for her. If there's something really tough I need to find out, I come to Dex. But with the way she's learning and climbing the ranks, it won't be long before she's outstripped Dex in knowing the secrets of the galaxy." I then grinned at her. "If you want, I can introduce you to her. She works down at Aeon's Haven."

Dawn blushed and turned away. "No thanks," she said shortly.

"Oh come on Dawn! I bet you could learn a lot there. More than what Aayla could teach you about certain things." When she refused to turn around, I cracked up laughing. "I'm just yanking ya chain, Dawn!" In turn she glared at me, promising pain of some kind in the future. I just laughed again.

* * *

"There's one more place I want to show you before the Council meeting," I said as we took a lift down several floors. We were in the privately owned section of the shipdocks.

"Where are we going?" Anakin asked.

"We're heading to my personally owned ship hanger," I replied as the lift slowed down and the doors opened, revealing a large half built ship.

"Wow!" Anakin gasped before he ran ahead to inspect the ship. The ship was in the shape of a wedge with large thrusters at the back. At the front there was a gap from the tip to the cockpit.

"What kind of ship is this?" Dawn asked.

"I designed it from an old blueprint of the Imperial Fury Transport that was used around the time the Jedi Temple was trashed during the Sacking of Coruscant about 2500 years ago. Say what you want about the Imperials and the Sith, they knew how to make cool looking ships," I explained. "I've customised the design to my own specs. Such as this ship is twice the size of the original design.

The ship's angular design combines the maneuverability of a fighter with impressive armament rivalling some larger military vessels. The ship also features a set of "strike foils" that remain down for travel but can be expanded in short-range combat to maximize the ship's agility and range of firepower.

The interior aesthetic is sleek and functional, however it will be arranged more to the republic style of round corners, blue lightning instead of red and so on, instead of what it was like originally. Military-grade computers and communications equipment are integrated into the ship's hardware, and hidden security devices make sabotage extremely difficult and dangerous.

It's also going to have more comfort features in there, such as showers, a kitchen, two four bunk bedrooms and a sweet looking Captain's Quarters for me!" I finished off with a big grin.

"It's impressive," Shmi nodded.

"It's AWESOME!" Anakin cried out from somewhere behind the ship. There was a loud crash. "Opps… sorry," he added before the kid scampered around the side with an apologetic grin on his face.

"Ok, maybe it's time we set you in front of the Council now. Get it over with," I suggested.

* * *

(AN: I want to apologize for how long it's taken me to update. I've been busy writing on a new Naruto and my first Stargate SG-1 fic as well as the Mass Effect fic. Been thinking of adding a Dragon Age Saga fic in the works too.)


	9. Episode VIII: The Council's Decision

**Episode VIII: The Council's Decision**

The four of us walked down the halls of the Jedi Temple, heading past the Youngling classrooms on our way to the Council Chamber lifts. Dawn had left as soon as we entered the Temple, having to give her report to her Master. As we passed a particularly noisy room I paused in my steps and looked at my holowatch.

"Hang up a sec," I said and the Skywalkers turned to look at me. "We've got a few minutes before the deadline. Do you mind if I make a quick stop before we go up?"

"Not at all," Shmi replied.

"Great!" I grinned before I walked over to the room that had a sign saying 2 – B over it. I ducked my head in to see several kids mucking around inside with an old Jedi teacher trying and failing to calm the class down.

"Hey guys!" I called cheerfully. They all looked around with wide eyes and yelled out "UNCLE FOX!" I had one second of freedom before I was dog pilled by them.

"Heey! Jeremy, Kaitlin, Jessica, Hamish, Oliver, Hina, Samantha! How are you guys doing!" I said as I did my best to hug all of them at once.

"We're bored!" Jeremy replied as they all got off me, allowing me to sit up. Jeremy was a kid of 10. He had short dark brown hair and black eyes, and was the eldest in the group.

"We've had old Master Kar'to for history," Hina explained. She had long midnight blue hair and grey eyes.

I heard a soft scoff and I looked over the children's heads to see an old man with heavy wrinkles and several liver spots on his face. "You should really try to liven your classes up, Master Kar'to," I suggested.

"Heh! Being a Jedi isn't about liveliness. Tradition, discipline and focus. I've taught for 59 years—" he began.

"See what we've had to put up with?" Hamish groaned. He was a boy with scruffy brown hair and brown eyes. He was the youngest of 8 years old.

"Yeah. I've slept through a few of his lessons myself," I grinned.

"So what mission were you on this time, Uncle Fox?" Jessica asked. She had long blonde hair in a single plat and hazel eyes.

"This time I went to Naboo, and I saved a Queen from being taken prisoner!" I replied.

"Ooohh!" the girls responded while the boys looked a little bored.

"We managed to escape the planet, but our hyperdrive was damaged in the escape and had to land on a nearby planet to repair; Tatooine. And there was only one way we could get our hyperdrive fixed. And that was to bet on the Podraces!" I continued.

"You mean the Boonta Eve Classic!?" Oliver asked in excitement. He had black hair and blue eyes. He was the electronics expert in the group, and he loved watching Podracing.

"Oli, have you been hacking into PodNET again?" Samantha scolded. She was a bossy redhead with sharp green eyes.

"So what? It was spectacular! It looked like Sebulba was in the lead with his Plug-F Mammoth. But then a human kid named Anakin Skywalker showed him up with his custom made podracer! A human's never won before, other than Uncle Fox here," Oliver chattered quickly and excitedly.

"That reminds me," I said as I turned my head to see Anakin hiding slightly behind his mother shyly. "Hey Kiddo! Come over here and meet the gang!" He hesitated for a moment before he came out and walked over. Oliver squinted at him before his eyes nearly popped out. "Holy Force! It's him! It's the kid who won the Boonta Eve! Anakin Skywalker!"

"Who this kid?" Jeremy asked. "I thought he'd be taller."

"That's definitely him. You were awesome out there! So totally cool!" Oliver continued to shower praise onto him, which made Ani scratch the back of his head in embarrassment at all the attention.

"So guys. Anakin here is with me. We're gonna see if we can get him into the Jedi ranks as an Initiate. And I'm also planning on taking him on as my apprentice. Sorry guys. I know some of you wanted to be my Padawan," I apologised. A few groans and whines of disappointment were sounded. "But I'll still make time to teach you a thing or two, ok?" The whole group cheered at this announcement. I then checked my holowatch. "Oh crap. Gotta go! C'mon Kiddo!" I cursed as I stood up quickly and dashed past Dawn and Shmi for the door. "Sorry guys! Gotta meeting with the old farts upstairs! I'll see you later!" Goodbyes and laughter followed us as we walked quickly to the elevators.

* * *

As we exited the lift with the doors to the council chambers in front of us, a pleasant surprise awaited us.

"Jinn! What are you doing here?" I asked as I walked up and clasped my old friend's hand in greeting.

"I wanted to see how Anakin does, that's all," he replied as he shook my hand in return. "And also to prepare the Council for Anakin's test."

I looked over to see the kid looking very nervous. He was still fidgety, but all of the sugar had been worked out of his system, thank goodness. I released Qui-Gon and moved over to the kid.

"Hey Kiddo," I said as I knelt down to his level.

"Hey Josh," he replied, his voice just as nervous as he looked.

"I need to tell you something before you go in there," I said as I directed the two of us onto the balcony where we could see the sunset over the surrounding metropolis.

"Are you afraid of not being accepted?" I asked.

There was a short pause before he nodded silently. "What is that fear centred around? Not being good enough?" Another pause before he shook his head in the negative. I blinked. "Then what?"

There was a longer pause. "If I don't get accepted… what'll happen to me then?" he asked. "Will I have to…" he couldn't bring himself to finish.

"Go back to being a slave?" I asked gently. He turned to me, his eyes full of fear of returning back to that life. Despite missing his friends, he still didn't want to return. Which was natural, of course.

I smiled. "You think that being a Jedi is a must to keeping your freedom? Not the case. Even if you don't get in, you'll still be free. And if you want, you can still stay with me. You won't be a Jedi, but if you still want to travel with me instead of settling down with your mum at my place, then I will get you all the training you need to survive. It won't be lightsaber training or force training. But things like marksmanship with pistols, computer hacking. Mechanics. Being a Jedi is not the 'be all, end all' career path for you. No matter what happens in the next hour, I promise I will stay by your side and will not let you, or your mother, go back to being a slave." My smile grew wider as his eyes lost their fear and hope rose up once again. He wrapped his arms around me and I returned the gesture.

"Thank you!" he whispered.

"Sure thing. Now, come on. We can't keep the old farts waiting. They get grumpy and sulky if that happens," I replied as we released each other and walked back inside. During that moment I felt the bond between us strengthen several times over, to the point where I could feel what he was feeling if the feelings were strong enough. I assumed it went both ways as he looked at me with a curious expression on his face.

"I guess we've formed a strong force bond between us. For the most part it only happens between Master and Apprentice. It's where we can feel what the other is feeling if it's strong enough. A stronger bond allows us to feel these feelings over great distances and even stronger ones can transfer worded thoughts between each other. Usually it takes a year or two to develop the low level bonds. But we've only been together for a standard Galactic week. It shows just how close we are already," I explained.

"Wizard!" he replied with wide eyes.

"And if you ever feel nervous in the actual test, then focus on the happy feelings over the past two days, ok?" He nodded. "Ok now. Seriously, the Council Masters don't like it when people are late," I said. He nodded and walked over to the doors. There was almost no trace of the fear from earlier. Now there was a contented warmth that I felt from him, along with a healthy dose of nervousness. I smiled as the doors opened and he stepped inside.

I then walked over to Qui-Gon, Shmi and Kenobi and the four of us walked back out onto the balcony.

"Did you truly mean what you said to Anakin?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Sure did. If not a Jedi, he'll become the galaxy's best mechanic," I grinned. "And I'll be his manager and I'll be rich!"

"Aren't you already rich with that large estate at Aldera and all the savings you've racked up over the years?" he asked.

"I'll be richer!" I exclaimed heartily. The other two Jedi just smiled at my antics.

"Don't you think he's too old, Master? I truly wonder if the boy can pass the council's test," Obi-Wan asked.

"Yeah, those old fossils are dead set in their ways. And perhaps putting him through the test now when the news of Sith on the horizon isn't the best timing in the galaxy. If they say no now I'll just continue to hound them until they accept, more for shutting me up then out of any interest in Anakin," I grinned.

"You are ruthless, you know that?" Jinn smiled.

"Like you aren't," I countered. Jinn's smile turned sheepish at that. At that moment a small sound alerted me to my wrist holoterminal and I brought up my hand to read the alert I just received.

"Huh," I muttered. "The Queen gave Supreme Chancellor Valorum a vote of no confidence in yesterday's session. And now it seems that Chancellor Palpatine has been nominated to replace him."

"That's a surprising move. But at least it will be easier for the Queen to gain the support she'll need to take back Naboo," Jinn replied.

"Maybe," I replied.

* * *

By the time we were allowed back in, it was dark outside. The cityscape was alive with light. It was a truly beautiful sight, but my attention was not on outside.

We stood silently as we waited for the Masters to speak their verdict. It was Mundi who began. "The Force is strong with him," he noted.

"Really? I hadn't guessed but thanks for clearing that up for me Master Obvious," I muttered sarcastically. The masters ignored this quip. "So, have you decided to accept him?"

There was a pause. "Even if we say no, you still intend to take him on?" Windu asked.

"It's my right as a Master. Bet you regret promoting me now, don't you?" I grinned. "I take him as my Padawan Lerner."

The senior council master sighed. "You are correct, it is your right. But in light of recent events, we cannot solely concentrate on this matter. We ask that you wait awhile before taking up the boy as an apprentice. We have bigger issues to worry about," he replied.

I paused before nodding. "You've got a point there. I take it you've heard the news then? About the senate voting on a new supreme chancellor."

"Correct. It seems that Queen Amidala has decided to return home," Mace added.

"Return you say?" I asked, surprised, but soon gave way to rueful understanding. "Well she was quite a steadfast woman. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this."

"This will put pressure on the Federation and could widen the confrontation," Mace finished up.

"And draw out the queen's attacker," Ki-Adi-Mundi added.

"You, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi will go with the queen to Naboo and discover the identity of this dark warrior," Mace said.

"He's a Sith," I sighed, drawing out then name of the dark Force users as if I was trying to explain it to a three year old.

"Nevertheless, we need to know who he's apprenticed to or at the very least, stop him," Windu stressed.

"I doubt he'll go quietly into the night. There's a very high chance I'll have to kill him," I said.

"We realise this," he replied. I then bowed in acknowledgement.

"May the Force be with you," Yoda intoned the only phrase he didn't say backwards. I nodded before we left the room to get the next shuttle to the Naboo dignitary landing pad.

* * *

An hour later saw us back at the landing pad. Shmi decided to stay at my Coruscant apartment, saying that she needed to spend some time thinking about her new name and her future. Since I was taking Anakin with me, I assured her that I would keep Anakin safe and she looked to be placated by this.

As we walked out of the ship after getting a few things onto it, we watched the queen's shuttle sidle up to the landing pad.

"Josh, I heard Yoda talking about midi-chlorians. What are they?" Anakin asked.

"Let's see… I guess you could call them intelligent microscopic life forms that live inside every living being. Even yourself," I replied.

"Inside me?" Anakin asked, once again, unable to grasp such a concept.

"Yeah, it's something that'll be pounded into you once your studies at the Temple start up. Wonderful theory work," I replied the last bit sarcastically. Anakin made a face and I chuckled. "Yeah, I didn't like theory work either. I've always been a practical person. Qui-Gon here is smarter than me."

"So what do they do?" he asked.

"They allow us to detect the Force and use it to help us. They're also the reason life exists. Over the years we've developed ways of measuring how much of these little guys we have inside ourselves. The more we have, the easier it becomes to use the Force. Normal people have about 2,500 of the little buggers inside each cell of blood, with a few others having higher amounts. These people are known as Force-sensitives and these people are contracted into becoming Jedi or, in the past, Sith," I explained.

"Master Yoda said I have over 20,000 in my cells. Is that a lot?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's higher than what the little green troll has in his own. I have roughly the same count as you. However," I stressed at the end, gaining Anakin's full attention, "Just because you have just as many midi-chlorians as me, which is higher than any recorded Jedi so far, doesn't mean you're superhuman. Like everyone else you'll need to train to feel them, and by extension, the Force. So no getting a swollen head or getting a superior and arrogant ego, ok? This is one thing I won't tolerate," I looked him dead in the eye to make sure he got the message. He nodded quickly, a little nervous. I then grinned.

"But if you do, at least be prepared to back it up, or otherwise you'll just end up looking like an ass. I speak from personal experience so I know what I'm talking about."

"That's for sure. Once when he was still an Initiate, he was mouthing off to a senior Jedi Knight on how his lightsaber skills were better than his. He challenged the Knight to a practise spar and was soundly beaten," Qui-Gon smiled.

"It was Mace Windu with his 9 foot pole shoved even further up his ass than normal. He was acting so smug. I just wanted to wipe the floor with that arrogant ass. But he's not known as being the best lightsaber duellist of his generation for nothing. He kicked my ass in front of my whole class and a few lower classes as well. Most humiliating experience of my life. But it was that fight that got me noticed by my Master, who, on the next Padawan day, took me on as an Apprentice," I smiled. "Every bad experience has a silver lining. …Well, some of them anyway."

"The midi-chlorians continually speak to us through the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, you'll hear them speaking to you," Qui-Gon said.

"They'll help you with fighting, occasionally letting you know of any attacks from blind spots. You went through the guessing game in the test, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yeah," Anakin nodded.

"When you guessed what each slide was, did you hear a very faint voice tell you? Or was it more like a feeling?"

"Umm… a feeling, I think," he replied.

"That was the midi-chlorians talking to you; telling you what slide it was," I said.

"Really?" he asked in wide eyed wonder.

"Yep. With time and training, that feeling will strengthen and a very faint voice will be added to it. When you hear the voice, it's one of the signs that you're ready to become a Jedi Knight," I said.

At this point the Queen, her chief of security and her handmaidens walked up to us. "Good evening, your Highness," I bowed chivalrously to her. "We'll be escorting you back to Naboo. It's a pleasure to continue to serve and protect you." I glanced at Padme who was directly behind the queen and winked at her. I was rewarded with a small smile in return.

"We welcome your help," the double replied in her usual flat tone. "Senator Palpatine fears that the Federation mean's to destroy me."

"They'll have to try a lot harder with me around," I grinned. I then sighed as I heard JarJar cry out in joy at the fact that he was going back to Naboo. "Do we really have to bring him along? Can't we just dump him into the Eastern Sea? He'd be happy there. But then again he'd probably be arrested in three seconds flat for scaring the kids holidaying there." This brought a round of slimes from everyone. I myself smiled; glad I still had the gift to brighten this solemn return trip.


End file.
